‘We're fighters’: Derby County boss fires warning to Portsmouth ahead of crucial relegation clash

And the Rams head coach is adamant the injuries, which have decimated his squad in recent weeks, won’t affect his side ahead of the vitally-important trip to Fratton Park.

The Pride Park outfit make the vital journey down to the south coast on Saturday afternoon for the game, which is set to play a major role in the Championship relegation battle.

However, will Derby have to contend have a lengthy absentee list, with defender Ryan Nyambe becoming the latest member of the squad to be ruled out for the season.

Curtis Nelson (knee), David Ozoh (thigh), Lars-Jorgen Salvesen (knee) are also sidelined for the remainder of the campaign, while Kemar Roofe (hamstring), Ben Osborn (hamstring) are out for a long period.

But, that hasn’t stopped a recent resurgence under Eustace, with his side winning four of their past six games to climb out of the relegation zone.

And the Rams will be heading into Saturday’s contest at Fratton Park full of confidence after Tuesday evening’s 0-0 draw against promotion-hopefuls Burnley.

The Derby boss has since fired warning shots to Pompey and has made it clear his side will be up for the fight, despite their injury worries, as the battle for survival intensifies.

Eustace told Derbyshire Live after the stalemate with the Clarets: ‘In the first week I was here, we lost four, who are out for most of the season. All I'd say is that the group have rolled their sleeves up and, whichever position they've been asked to play, they've been fantastic. We're fighters, not victims. I'm not going to moan - it's what we're all about, we'll get on with it and see where it takes us.

‘The group have been excellent since we came in. We have had to make a lot of changes throughout all the games. We had a good run of four games without any injuries, and you could see that level of consistency. The last couple of games we have had to make three or four changes for the games. Everyone is playing their part to pick up as many points as we can.

‘It's a group effort. The boys have been working their socks off on the training field. We were really disappointed on Saturday because it was a game we dominated with and without the ball and to concede the way we did, it was really soft.

‘To come up against a top team in Burnley, the best team in the league, and defend the way we did was a real positive. It's a group effort, it's a collective. Every player rolled up their sleeves and went toe to toe with an excellent team, of which I am very proud.’

Race for Championship survival intensifies

Derby have turned their season around in recent weeks after appointing Eustace in March. Although the Rams lost their first three games under their new head coach, a surprising run of four successive wins saw them move out of the relegation zone.

After a 1-0 loss to Swansea on Saturday, they followed it up with a goalless draw against Burnley on Tuesday. Derby now sit two points behind Pompey ahead of their trip to Coventry this evening.

Attention then turns to Saturday’s crucial clash for the Blues, who will be looking to move clear of the relegation picture.

Fratton Park is closing in on once again being a sell-out, while Eustace’s side will be backed by 2,171 supporters making the journey down from Pride Park.

The Blues currently sit three points above the bottom three ahead of today’s game against Coventry.

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