Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.
Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.
The Rams doubled their advantage four minutes later when Nat Phillips nodded into the path of Jerry Yates and the striker was able to touch it beyond David Cornell and lift the Rams out of the bottom three.
Eustace has taken Derby to four successive wins for the first time in nearly five years as they have climbed to 20th in table.
The Derby boss said: “We grew into the game, the first half when we won the ball we needed to be better in the final third.
“I was confident coming in at half-time if we stuck to the game plan the second half would open up.
“It was important when we won the ball back that we kept the ball better. The work the group and staff are putting in is there for everyone to see.
“I thought we deserved the win. We were up against a solid Championship team full of Championship experience, excellent manager, so we knew it was going to be tight.”
Derby are becoming a force at Pride Park under Eustace’s stewardship and Wednesday’s result was their third straight victory in front of their own fans.
He added: “One of the reasons I came to the football club was the magnificent home support, it’s close to 30,000 here every week.
“The fans are playing a huge part in what we are doing at the moment. I wanted to come here and create a family and togetherness that can help Derby in the future and I think we are starting to do that slowly.
“It’s just important fans buy into what we are doing here. Derby’s a fantastic football club and I’m here for the long term not the next two or three months.”
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom claims his side’s attitude in the first 10 minutes of the second period cost them the points.
He said: “That 10-minute spell took the game away from us.
“It’s horrible getting beat but the frustrations of how much we were in control of dealing with their threats. All of a sudden we’re not winning duels and leaving men at set-plays.
“These last games – including this one – it’s about building for next season but reinforcing what to do well and what we need to do better. We need to be better at the top end of the pitch.
“Set-plays I bang on about them all the time you need to have pride.”
