An ecstatic Tony Humes hailed his Colchester United players after they beat Preston North End 1-0 to avoid relegation from Sky Bet League 1.
George Moncur's 82nd-minute winner helped the U's get the vital victory they needed to stay up and beat the Lilywhites, who needed to win to go up automatically and now have to settle for a place in the Play-Offs.U's boss Humes said: "It's a great achievement for the football club.
"Credit to the players out there, because they were absolutely brilliant.
"It was a tough game and they're a good team but we stuck at it.
"It was a cagey game with not a lot of clear-cut chances.
"We didn't go out to just stop them playing; we actually wanted to counter-attack and try and use our assets.
"But it was difficult, because they're playing against experienced players.
"We kept going and going and kept doing what we believe in.
"Ultimately we got success from it.
"I was quite surprised when we got a penalty and whether it knocked them or gathered them together again, we don't know.
"But George Moncur showed a little bit of quality at the end - he's done it a few times this season and has been in the right place at the right time and that bit of quality."