Gary Rowett believes Birmingham City have banished the fear factor at St Andrew's after his first win as boss.
Clayton Donaldson's double clinched a 2-1 win over Watford on Tuesday night - just their second home league win in 25 games.They were thumped 8-0 by Bournemouth in their last home outing but deserved the victory which knocked Watford off the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
The three points failed to lift Blues out of the relegation zone but Rowett, who has four points from his first two games after joining from Burton, believes they are turning the corner.
He said: "I certainly think we shouldn't play with any fear here. You could see the pressure on one or two at some stage but I felt they overcame it very well.
"I'm not bothered about what's happened before but mentally we have to start again. If they see it as a fresh start and challenge they can put it behind them. Sometimes they have to play with no fear. Where I will be disappointed is where players don't try to make something happen."
Former defender Rowett, who replaced Lee Clark last week, was given a hero's welcome before the game and insisted he did not want his return to be an anti-climax.
"It was brilliant but there is always part of you, when everyone is cheering, feeling you don't want that to be the only excitement of the evening," said Rowett, who made 106 appearances for Blues between 1998 and 2000.
"I wanted to make sure the main focus was to build on Saturday's encouraging performance [a 0-0 draw at Wolves]. I wanted to see a little bit of something on top of that.
"The crowd will get behind you but only if you give them something. They were ready to grab something and that performance will have encouraged them. What's important is they go home with a few smiling faces."