Derby County were beaten 1-0 by Stoke City yesterday which left them in the Championship's bottom three and still without a home win

Derby County's miserable home record at Pride Park continues as Stoke City snatched a 1-0 victory.

Luke Graham's goal just after half-time was enough to seal all three points on another forgettable afternoon that will heap further pressure on Derby head coach John Eustace.

Derby picked up two more injuries just to give them more problems to deal with after Alex Mowatt was ruled out of action with a foot injury while Lewis Travis limped off in the second half.

The result leaves Derby in the bottom three amid growing fan discontent following a dismal start to the campaign which has yielded just one win in 11 league games.

To compound matters for Derby, Stoke's goal was from a familiar source in that it was a cross into the box from Ethan Galbraith that was met by Graham whose header took a deflection past Josh VIckers.

Rhian Brewster did come close to scoring for Derby when he was teed up on the edge of the box, but the former Liverpool forward struck the foot of the post.

Derby were close to an equaliser at the death but Ozoh was denied by a brilliant save from Viktor Johansson.

The miserable run continues

It is hard to believe that just five months ago, Derby were looking towards the future with genuine optimism and dreaming of what they might achieve under John Eustace. There was hope, expectation and understandable excitement about what this season could deliver. Eleven games in, however, the grey clouds have already gathered over a campaign that has delivered about as much positive impact as Donald Trump has had on diesel prices.

This defeat to Stoke was yet another forgettable afternoon, undermined by the same old issues, and the longer it continues, the prospect of a relegation battle becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss. That might seem an alarmist conclusion, but they can't keep clean sheets and are yet to find a reliable source of goals, leaving the prospect of a top-eight finish a speck on the horizon.

It is the biggest challenge Eustace has faced since taking charge, and he is under no illusion that the pressure is mounting. He said he was angry and frustrated by the start to the season, insisting that a transformation in fortune is his responsibility. There are mitigating circumstances as to how Derby have reached this point, and it's been something of a perfect storm. The injury crisis has naturally been a significant problem, with eight of the 10 injuries sustained affecting the defence.

Outside of that, Carlton Morris has yet to rediscover the form he showed at the start of last season, hampered by a distinct lack of service, while Bobby Clark has struggled to find consistency. Joe Ward has also failed to match last season's output in open play and dead-ball situations, which were a decent source of goals. Derby also lost the 17 goals contributed by Patrick Agyemang and Ben Brereton Diaz, leaving Henrik Meister and Filip Bilbija with a burden to shoulder as novices in the division, which, as the weeks go by, looks an almighty gamble by those tasked with recruitment.

November will offer some hope, with the likes of Agyemang and Matt Clarke expected to return from injury, but Derby must somehow hang in there until reinforcements arrive. The problem is that the margin for error is already shrinking. They are three points behind Norwich, who are fourth bottom, and five behind Watford, who are above the Canaries. It may only be October, but the smoke is already billowing, and Eustace needs to dampen the flames before they spread any further.

No signing has made the team better

A lot has been made of Derby's recruitment over the summer, but the acid test is the impact they are having on the team. And sadly, as everybody is learning the hard way, not one outside of those who were already here last season has yet to make Derby any better.

David Ozoh, Bobby Clark and Sam Szmodics had already proven what they could bring to this team with the latter undeniably the best player of the campaign so far, but the rest? Filip Bilbija cannot make the team amid doubts about his physicality. Henrik Meister looks like a player who is incredibly raw and needs a hell of a lot of work.

Alex Mowatt has done okay, but hasn't lifted the team to another level, Ryan Hedges and Charlie Taylor likewise. Eiran Cashin's injured. Mo Fuseini looks the part in flashes but still has a lot to learn defensively.

Eustace did turn to his bench to bring Meister and Bilbija on in the second half, but they were brought on more in hope than expectation. And that's an issue for the recruitment team when you compare it to the other squads in the league.

It is far too early to write them off completely, but they have yet to showcase anything that can justify them a place in the starting XI.

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Robins fights Eustace's corner

Stoke boss Mark Robins was obviously happy to emerge from Pride Park with all three points, but he acknowledged the problems Derby are facing. The managers' union remains strong because they all recognise that their heads are on the chopping block when results aren't going to plan.

But Robins knows firsthand how injuries can have such a detrimental effect on the team, having pointed to the issues that Stoke encountered last season.

They endured a wretched season in terms of the casualty list, which saw them go from early top-six contenders to slipping to the lower half of the table.

Stoke are now enjoying the fruits of Robins' labour, having stuck with him in the summer, and he said: "John's got a lot of injuries.

"Loads of injuries and mostly in the backline. There's a key injury to Patrick Agyemang, who is a really, really, good player as well. It's a lot of injuries, and it does have an impact, as we found out last season when we came here."

Clark clarifies gesture

Bobby Clark took to Twitter on Saturday night to explain that he wasn't cupping his ear to the fans.

That was in response to a host of fans on social media saying it was aimed at a wider section of the support.

"For everyone saying I cupped my ears to the fans just wanted to say that is not the case at all," he wrote on X.

"It was to a fan who was giving me stick repeatedly. That is something I definitely wouldn’t do after a loss."

He should never have got involved because it's a fight you can't win. He's got to let his feet do the talking rather than his hands. He's young, but he will learn. Ultimately, it's a problem he doesn't need, and neither does his manager.

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