Declan Devine has hailed his side’s willingness to play “ugly” - as Bohemians opened up a six-point gap at the top of the Premier Division.
The Bohs boss claimed his players spilled “a bit of acid” on their way to victory over his former side Derry City on Monday night.
The Candy Stripes were hoping to leap-frog the table-toppers with a win, but were frustrated throughout and conceded from a controversial second-half penalty.
For the Dubliners, it was the perfect reaction to last Friday’s derby defeat to Shamrock Rovers.
“We didn’t defend the way we had all season (against Rovers),” said Devine.
“Tonight we defended with aggression, we defended with unity, with bodies on the line, heading balls you’re not entitled to head, your goalkeeper with a couple of big saves again.
“To achieve anything against the top teams, that’s what you need, that’s what you require, it can’t always just be the beautiful game.
“The players will be exhausted but their appetite, I really liked their appetite, they were able to spill a bit of acid.
“Their willingness to do that ugly side of the game, I thought that was good.”
Nine matches into a 36-game campaign, and having faced all of their Premier Division rivals, Bohs can proudly lay claim to top spot.
Impressively, they’ve done so despite playing five away games, compared to four at home, including tricky trips to Derry, Cork, Sligo and St Patrick’s Athletic.
They have chalked up wins against those four sides - and their one away defeat so far came against Shelbourne, when Dylan Connolly was issued a harsh red card.
“It’s a huge win for us,” said Devine of Monday’s success. “I think it’s 2019 since Bohemians have beat Derry. More importantly it was a massive response to our defeat on Friday night.
“We showed tremendous character, they did things we asked them to do.
“We showed in moments we had to dig deep and find a way of defending, to play on the counter attack.
“We had four or five injuries ourselves and we were down a lot of bodies.
“All in all, to come to a venue like this with a new squad, with 14 or 15 players coming into a building, it’s a massive three points.
“We’ve had five away games in the opening nine, and to be sitting with 21 points out of 27 is full testament to their character.”
While he hailed the win as “a big statement”, Devine cautioned: “We’ll not get too carried away. We’ve to play a lot more games.
“But it will give the players confidence to go to difficult venues when down five or six players and still be able to perform when they’re only getting to know each other.
“Our back-four are only together for eight or nine weeks. I think there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes that will help us get better.”
Devine believes Bohs can only get better - and he is already looking at the summer transfer window as an opportunity to strengthen his squad.
“It’s a new group,” he said. “The mentality has changed, the desire has changed, full-time football has hugely enhanced us as a group.
“But I got rid of 12 or 14 players in the off-season a bit similar to when I came here (Derry) the second time, when I only had four players and had to rebuild the squad.
“I think I brought really good people to the club.
“I keep saying this, the people that were on the pitch and sitting in that dugout are good people, willing to do whatever it takes to get better.
“We’re working extremely hard behind the scenes. We’ll take our win tonight and get ready for Pat’s another really difficult game. But nobody is getting carried away.”
Devine added: “I think we can get better. We’ve had one transfer window, we’ve another window to come.
“But the key in that window is to bring in not just other players, but good people who buy into the ethos of the club, the changing room, the mentality of the players that are already here.
“Nobody is getting carried away. We’ll probably have a dip, as all teams do, but what it does do is show us we are a match for anybody.”
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