John begins with vow to make the best of it
JOHN Eustace admits Blues will have to prioritise points over plaudits in his early days as head coach.
The 42-year-old arrives at St Andrew’s with a growing reputation as an up-and-coming coach, whose one foray into management saw his side dubbed the ‘Barcelona’ of non-league.
That was between 2016 and 2018 when the former Watford and Derby midfielder steered Kidderminster Harriers to the National League North play-offs in consecutive seasons.
After that he moved to Queens Park Rangers where he continued to learn his trade under Steve McClaren and Mark Warburton.
In his first interview, Eustace was keen to make clear, first and foremost, he cares about substance rather than style. Reflecting on his time at Loftus Road he said: “In the first year with Steve I learned you couldn’t go in and play expansive football straight away, you have to adapt, you have to use the players we could use.
“The footballing philosophy for us there wasn’t what we wanted but we had to make the best of what we had. The club grew, we brought a philosophy in under Steve, which Mark then carried on, and then you could see QPR reaped the rewards after that.
“My experience working with two very experienced managers is it takes time, nothing is done in the short term, and this is a long-term project, I am here for the long term, it’s going to take time, we will get there.
“But the most important thing is we are competitive and we are getting results because otherwise I probably won’t get that time. The most important thing for me is that we build an identity that we are a very, very tough team to play against.
“We are hard working, we have a certain way to play but the most important thing is we are competitive and we make the fans very proud watching us play week in, week out.”
Blues have tried to make the transition to a more attractive style several times in the last few years.
In the early days of Pep Clotet’s tenure they played some excellent football, at times under Lee Bowyer last season they were very effective in attack. But, for the moment, Eustace accepts he will have to play to his players’ strengths.
“You work with what you have got, that’s why it’s a long-term project, short term we have to adapt,’’ he said. “We have to adapt to what the players want to do, how they want to play, what suits them best and then we make the best of it.
“We give them ideas how to play that way and ideas how to defend against Championship teams set up in ways to win games, so yes, you have to be adaptable.”
Eustace brings with him Matt Gardiner, with whom he worked at both Loftus Road and in his first management spell at Kidderminster Harriers.
The 48-year-old had a lower-league playing career, a spell in the management team at Worcester City, and was with Eustace at Aggborough before spending four years as a coach at QPR.
Gardiner will be Eustace’s joint assistant head coach, alongside Keith Downing who returns to the West Midlands having previously played for
Blues in the early 1990s and spent eight years as a coach at West Brom.
He has also worked in the England age group set-up, with whom he won the U19 European Championships in 2017 with a side that included Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale. Last season the 56-year-old helped Steven Schumacher at Plymouth.
However, a name more familiar to Blues fans is that of Maik Taylor, who following the departure of Andy Marshall has become Eustace’s goalkeeper coach. The 50-year-old became a fan favourite during his eight-year spell at the club, where he made 242 appearances.
Taylor was appointed Walsall’s goalkeeper coach in 2019, having previously occupied the same role for the Northern Ireland national team and in a short-term spell with Bradford.
The Blues’ hot seat is Eustace’s second role in management, having been in charge at Aggborough for two years.
“I am very proud to be here,’’ he said. “I am a Birmingham lad and I know the potential of the club and how important it is to the fans.”