Dougie Freedman was delighted with the response of his Nottingham Forest side after they beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at the City Ground.
Forest again had to show their character to come from behind and return to winning ways under Freedman after Grant Leadbitter's cross-shot had found the back of the net off the inside of the post in the 27th minute.Gary Gardner scored his second spectacular goal in the space of three games by firing the ball high into the corner of the net from the edge of the box seven minutes later.
And, while they had to ride out long spells of Middlesbrough pressure in the final stages, Dexter Blackstock's neat turn and finish, after being fed by Michail Antonio in the 65th minute, was enough to secure the Reds' sixth win in eight games since Freedman took charge.
Forest had lost for the first time under the Scot in midweek and he felt this was the perfect response.
He said: "I am delighted with the super-human effort the players showed today and I am delighted with the response they produced to going behind, to suffering a set-back against the best team in the league, the strongest squad in the league and the one that will probably go on to win the title.
"I am so delighted for the players and what they have achieved. The game was about concentration. If you wanted to see the perfect definition of a team fighting for their lives, that is what we were doing in the final stages.
"We are in the business of winning games and we feel as though we are getting a winning mentality around the place.
"These are a great bunch of players to work with, they do exactly what you ask of them. They work as a team and they never give up. We never let set-backs influence us and as long as we have that, we have a chance of being a success."