Dean Smith hailed the rear-guard action that saw Aston Villa to a 1-0 win against Southampton on Saturday night.
Every player in a Villa shirt contributed to the defensive effort to keep the Saints at bay – before and after Ross Barkley’s 40th minute strike.
And head coach Smith was delighted with the outcome at St Mary’s.
He said: “It’s a great result. It was a resolute performance because they’re a good team and they create chances.
“We got blocks and we were on the favourable side of some marginal decisions today. We showed character and spirit.
“We talked a lot about being hard to beat again and we were hard to beat today. We had to defend well because they have quality players and I thought we did that today.”
The result was all the more satisfying for Smith given his side had come away from Burnley with nothing three days earlier, despite dominating the match.
Villa have been on the front foot for the most part in the Premier League this season, so the boss was pleased to come away with a victory having not been at their best offensively.
He said: “There haven’t been too many games where we’ve dealt with a lot of pressure, so it’s nice to do that today and get a clean sheet.
“That’s ten clean sheets now and that’s a credit to the whole team and their work ethic. It’s pleasing, especially after the way we played on Wednesday and came away with nothing.
“To come away with the three points tonight is very good.”
