Eustace’s two spells as a Derby player had him involved in a fight to avoid the drop and quests for a Premier League return.

He was first brought to the East Midlands club on loan from Watford in 2009 to help them avoid a second successive relegation, having plummeted from the Premier League a season earlier with the lowest points tally in the competition’s history.

Eustace was brought back permanently in 2013 and in his first season back, he helped get them to within one win of a top-flight return, as the Rams were beaten by Queens Park Rangers 1-0 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

It was under Steve McClaren that the Rams got to that showpiece, and it was the former England boss who gave him his first job as a Championship coach – recruiting Eustace as his assistant at QPR in 2018 after he had started his management career at non-league level with Kidderminster Harriers.

McClaren – whose dismissal at Loftus Road in 2019 saw Eustace take charge of a Championship match for the first time as an interim boss – says the Solihull-born boss is an ideal fit for Derby.

“For years we have talked about Derby County; he loved playing for them, I loved him when he was there, and it’s the perfect job for him,” McClaren said.

Eustace said being asked to return to the Rams was “a great honour”, even though he accepts the “short term is going to be very difficult” with a side he freely admits “will be seen as favourites for relegation”.

His first match in charge will be Friday night at QPR and is the first of “14 cup finals” between now and the end of the season as they try to stay up.

“It’s been very emotional,” Eustace added.

“I was very sad to leave a group of players and staff who were fantastic at Blackburn, but also there is emotion coming back to a club that has played a big part in my footballing career.

“If we don’t stay in the league, then we have a project over the next three or four years that will make sure that we come back stronger and better and make sure we get into the Premier League.

“The odds are against us, but sometimes that can be good, and we have to create that siege mentality now.”