Nigel Pearson demanded desire and that is exactly what he got as his Bristol City side put in a gutsy performance to dent in-form Middlesbrough's play-off charge.
The Robins' manager gave no hints about his team selection in Thursday's press conference except the fact it would be "interesting." He certainly wasn't lying and a few eyebrows were raised when the starting line-up was announced at 2pm on Saturday afternoon.
Sam Bell's inclusion was the biggest shock of the bunch, with the youngster making just his first start of the season. But the biggest question mark around the press room was which formation the manager had opted for.
It was summed up by a journalist's slip of paper with three different City formations on, names scribbled out with a sheet covered in numbers. His Boro line-up was immaculate in comparison. In the end, he just decided to forget it and determine for himself as he strolled up to the press box.
More on the formation later but it worked a treat as goals from Andi Weimann and Antoine Semenyo capped off an emotionally charged day that paid a memorable tribute to the Ashton Gate Eight.
Here's the verdict as City made it four wins on the bounce on home soil.
The Ashton Gate 8
There is no better place to start than a final word on the Ashton Gate Eight and the fitting tribute the players, manager and supporters made this afternoon.
Goosebumps were raised when Geoff Merrick, Trevor Tainton, Peter Aitken, Dave Rodgers, Gerry Sweeney and Julian Marsh were paraded onto the pitch before kick-off to a belting rendition of 'Eight men had a dream' from the home faithful. Unfortunately, Chris Garland, who was represented by his son, and Jimmy Mann couldn't make it.
It was emotional, powerful and poignant as all four sections of the stadium stood to their feet to applaud and acknowledge the sacrifices the players made to help save this club from oblivion.
After interviewing five of the eight and spending an evening in their company on Friday, they wouldn't have been any prouder with the way the club have treated them over the last three days - although it doesn't make up for what they had to suffer all those years ago.
Up until today, Mann's famous goal against Nottingham Forest to beat Peter Shilton had been dead and buried in the archives but thanks to the brilliant efforts of former chairman Scott Davidson, the supporters finally got to see what all the fuss was about.
Supporters sat in silence as they watched the build-up before Mann unleashed an unstoppable effort from distance. As the ball hit the back of the net, it was met by a chorus of "Ooo's" from the crowd.
Moments after, Geoff Merrick summed it up before the start of the contest when he said: "These three days have been some of the best of my life."
Just their presence alone lifted the supporters and players. Pearson admitted in his post-match press conference how the eight helped inspire his side victory when he said: "For people who have been associated with the club and have written about the club for a long time and to see the guys there today.
"I met them yesterday, there’s been an appreciation over a few weeks but certainly over the last couple of days it’s been very much in our consciousness. It’s a fitting tribute to them today."
Amen, to that.
Pearson's tactical masterstroke
Not only did he bamboozle the press room, he appeared to confuse the 20,148 supporters inside Ashton Gate when the team lineup was announced with four forwards in the starting XI.
Sam Bell's inclusion sparked the biggest debate while there was a welcome start for Joe Williams and captain Dan Bentley - the latter making his first start since December 18.
Even five minutes into the game, it was difficult to determine which formation Pearson had opted to go for. The BBC graphic appeared to think Williams would play in a back three while we initially believed it to be a 4-2-3-1 with Bell and Semenyo occupying the wide forward positions and Weimann behind Chris Martin.
It soon became evident of Williams' role as he started as a defensive midfielder before dropping into the backline when Middlesbrough had control of the ball to add that extra defensive unit.
That allowed the wing-backs, Bell and Dasilva to push forward and put pressure on their opponents while trying to contain Chris Wilder's side to play narrower.
When City had the ball, Williams would step forward into a defensive midfield role while Alex Scott and Han-Noah Massengo were almost given free, but disciplined roles, to mark whoever was closest to them at the time.
For the opening five or so minutes, the team looked as equally as confused as the fans as Middlesbrough forced a couple of early chances. But Weimann's goal out of nothing on seven minutes helped settle the side and the hosts soon found their rhythm.
Yes, City rode their luck at times and had Bentley to thank but it was an impressive tactical tweak that frustrated their opponents. City had plenty of men in the box and although it was scrappy at times, had enough bodies to prevent Boro's strikes on goal.
At one point in the first half, City were shaped in a back six when Boro dominated the ball and there was no way through. After the game, Pearson was asked on the formation and he refused to go into the technicalities of it, playing down the importance of Williams' role.
He said: "It doesn’t matter whether you see it as being a front sweeper or a back five or back four. It doesn’t matter. However you see it is what it is.
"The goal today was to wherever possible be either in front of the line of between the two centre backs because we knew that their midfield players split so you could say we were a diamond if you wanted to but it doesn’t matter.
"I’m not somebody that likes to talk technical terms, I get bored of hearing managers and coaches trying to explain to everybody how good they are by giving tactical sessions in press conferences. We did what we needed to do.
"It would sometimes be a diamond and sometimes he’d be in the back five. It doesn’t matter quite frankly. It’s what it looked like."
Welcome back, Bentley
Captain fantastic. Nigel Pearson seemed to downplay his contribution to the media but I'm sure behind closed doors he would have been waxing lyrical about his performance between the sticks yesterday.
It's difficult to know where to start with his goalkeeping dilemma. Max O'Leary's injury forced Bentley to come back in and make his first start since December 18 when he was dropped following a defeat against Huddersfield.
The true reasoning behind his exclusion is anyone's guess but on today's showing, a spell on the sidelines certainly appeared to do him some good.
The most notable aspect of his play, was how reassuring he was when the crosses came in - particularly from corners. This is no criticism of O'Leary, but Bentley instils confidence in his backline which the former just seems to lack. There was a notable less panic at the back, a reassurance that has become so evident in the last few weeks.
Away from his commanding of the area, his shot-stopping was nothing short of brilliant. Boro had 10 shots on target in total so it's impossible to dissect them all but one, in particular, stands out from the memory.
Towards the beginning of the second half, Folarin Balogun broke into the box and only had Bentley to beat. He looked certain to score.
But the keeper came off his line superbly, made himself big and managed to deny the Arsenal loanee with his legs. It was a huge stop in a crucial moment on the game. Minutes before that, he denied Tavernier's powerful effort with his left foot with Boro piling on the pressure.
He's vocal and you can see his qualities as a captain when he barks at his defenders. That grittiness, per sa, is an important factor that has been missing from City's game in recent weeks.
Pearson remained coy on Bentley's performance saying: "Someone like Dan Bentley, who’s had to be patient for a few weeks because he’s been out of the side, I thought he had a good game for us."
Surely after that performance, that shirt is his to keep until the end of the season.
Sam Bell takes his chance
In the build-up to yesterday's victory, Pearson's exact words in the pre-match press conference were: "I think what you get is that I’m a big believer in giving people opportunities but it’s up to people to grasp and maximise opportunities."
Bell, 19, making his first start of the season was thrown in the cauldron by playing in an unfamiliar wing-back role against one of the most in-form sides in the Championship.
The first couple of minutes were certainly nervy - he gave the ball away on two occasions by passing straight to his opposition. He could afford a number of early errors but the second one he made certainly drew an angry reaction from the manager.
I'd feared for him after that, but Bell deserves complete credit for the way he composed himself and grew into the contest as his confidence increased.
It was a difficult challenge for him and you could initially see his reluctance to get forward to prevent himself from being exposed in his defensively role. As the game grew on, he managed to get himself inside Boro's half and was unlucky not to grab himself an assist.
In the second period, he showed a glimpse of quality by whipping in a brilliant cross right on the money to Weimann who was lurking in the box. Unfortunately, the Austrian couldn't generate enough power to beat the keeper.
If Bell's career for City is anything like his dad's, then City know they have a real player on their hands. Micky Bell made 292 appearances for The Robins as a defender and his efforts saw him rewarded with a place in the club's Hall of Fame.
When the board went up on 65 minutes and Cam Pring came on to replace him, his exit was met by a rendition of "He's one of our own." Pearson then gave him a great acknowledgement as he made his way to the bench and the manager should have no concerns in throwing him into the mix against Coventry on Tuesday.
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