What Carlton Morris has said about John Eustace – It should excite Derby County fans
John Eustace has stressed in the past that he looks to bring in good humans in the past, and he seems to have brought in another one in Carlton Morris.
The Derby boss labelled Erik Pieters a “fantastic human” when he brought in the veteran defender on a short-term contract last season, as he feels it is important to have leaders and influential bodies in the dressing room throughout the campaign.
Carlton Morris is the latest arrival through the door at Pride Park, and the 29-year-old, who acted as the interim Luton Town captain in the absence of Tom Lockyer last season, clearly fits that bill in the eyes of Eustace.
Morris was asked about this particular transfer philosophy in his first interview as a Derby player, and he endorsed not only the approach but Eustace himself, giving Rams fans plenty of excitement due to the sheer pull factor that their manager has in bringing in solid, Championship-proven talent.
Carlton Morris “keen to work” under John Eustace
When Carlton Morris makes his Derby County debut, he will have played at 10 different clubs throughout his career so far.
Because of this, he told the club’s media that he’s “at a stage in [his] career now where [he] knows a lot of people” and has “given out references and taken in references.”
Clearly, Morris has heard good things about current Rams boss John Eustace and has received good references from others about what he is like as a head coach.
“The gaffer here is someone who I’m very keen to work with, and it’s important to me that he wants to sign the right players,” Morris said, when asked about Eustace’s focus on signing the right characters, as well as the right players.
“A football changing room can be a delicate ecosystem at times, and it doesn’t take much to upset the apple cart, so you’ve got to sign good human beings as well. Hopefully, I’ll fit in, in that respect.
“It’s very important to have a successful changing room to have success on the pitch.”
Dressing room culture may be key for Derby County’s 2025/26 season
It could be argued that Derby’s resolute performances towards the back end of the 2024/25 season were down to a good dressing room atmosphere, as John Eustace looked to craft a squad who were willing to be motivated and leave everything out on the pitch.
The Rams kept clean sheets in five of their final 10 games last season as they completed their escape and remained a Championship team for the upcoming campaign.
Eustace crafted a similar atmosphere during his time at Blackburn Rovers, too, with Rovers picking up five clean sheets in their final 9 games of the 2023/24 season as they successfully avoided relegation.
The season after that saw Blackburn shoot up into an unlikely play-off battle, and whilst the immediate expectation isn’t that Derby will do the same, there is a hope that the Rams’ 2025/26 season will be a little less stressful than last term.
And the tried and tested managerial methods of Eustace do help bring in top-quality players, as they see the importance of playing in a positive dressing room and a team filled with good people.
Eustace seems to be sticking to his plans to bring in the right players to contribute to a positive dressing room atmosphere though, and with Carlton Morris being no stranger to a 20-goal Championship season, perhaps that is what the former Luton man needs to once again become one of the second tier’s most feared frontmen.
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