Gianfranco Zola paid tribute to his defenders after reflecting on an "outstanding" display that earned the team precious three points away to Sunderland at the weekend.
Matthew Upson and James Collins, supported superbly by Lucas Neill and Herita Ilunga, were resolute in keeping the home attackers at bay and ensuring a relatively quiet afternoon for Robert Green. It was a second clean sheet in a row and the victory moved the club to within striking distance of the top seven in a week when Jonathan Spector, James Tomkins, Mark Noble and Kieron Dyer will all be in full training.
"I am very pleased," said Zola of the way his team snuffed out the threat of Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse on Sunday. "We have been rewarded for the work we have done in the last couple of months. Maybe sometimes we were playing better football and not getting anything. The result is something I think we deserved for how we have played in the past."
"The centre-halves were outstanding. We knew we were going to have problems because they have Jones who is very good with his head and Cisse as well. We knew they were very good playing off each other so it was vital that we defended properly. I don't think they lost one challenge. They were absolutely perfect but the whole team supported them.
"I told Matthew that if I had to give a vote to him from one to ten I couldn't do it because I would have given him eleven! He didn't lose one challenge but also he was aware, he didn't stop talking, commanding the defence. He was perfect. That is Matthew Upson and he deserves to play in the national team."
Of his defender's big week with club and country, Zola added: "To perform and play well for a footballer is great but also when you receive so many compliments it is even bigger. I think he is a wonderful professional because he always does his best. What I like is that he wants to improve all the time so for the manager it is so good to have players like that."
The matchwinner on the day was Valon Behrami, whose energy and enthusiasm was typified by the way he celebrated his 20th-minute strike by racing straight to the manager on the sidelines. "I sometimes think Behrami has a twin," added Zola with a smile. "He runs so much it is like there is two of him … the players were fantastic. It is all down to them. They train hard all the time. They never let themselves down. It is a very good reward for them."
The result was also a reward for the manager himself who has learned much about his players in recent weeks, including the strong contingent of homegrown youngsters at his disposal. "We are all passionate about this game - you can take it too seriously sometimes," he explained. "It is normal that you suffer. I will be in a better mood. This is going to give the boys a big boost. Finally, we got a very important result after our hard work."