John Eustace says he is determined to turn Derby County’s fortunes around despite a second successive 4-0 defeat leaving the Rams seven points from Championship safety.
Derby were beaten by the same scoreline at Millwall three days earlier, and another heavy loss at Pride Park leaves them with only one win from their past 14 second-tier matches.
Norwich City took control when Anthony Musaba finished from close range to score in the eighth minute. Paris Maghoma then continued his excellent run of form, finding the net for the third consecutive game with a precisely placed finish.
Darlin Yongwa added a third shortly before half-time before Jovon Makama completed the scoring with a powerful effort that went in off the underside of the crossbar.
The result gave Philippe Clement’s side a third consecutive victory and lifted the improving Canaries to 12th in the table.
Derby have now conceded four goals in successive league matches for the first time since October 2000. They remain 23rd and face an increasingly difficult battle to avoid relegation.
Despite the pressure on his position, Eustace told BBC Radio Derby he was not prepared to give up.
“I’m confident I can turn things around, I’m certainly not giving up – it’s a tough period but when we get through it eventually it’ll make us stronger again,” he said.
“Seven points [from safety] at this stage is not great but not the end of the world – this performance wasn’t at the level, we’re trying to mix the team up to try to find a solution while we’re in this difficult situation.
“Throughout the season we haven’t been good enough or strong enough as a group, which we’ve got to fix for the game on Friday.
“Tactically, I got it wrong and I’ll take full responsibility for the performance.”
Eustace acknowledged that Derby’s display was below the required standard as he tries to find a way to halt the team’s decline.
Elsewhere in the Championship, Birmingham City moved into second place after a 3-0 victory over Millwall at St Andrews.
Stoke City are third following their 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers.
