Gerhard Struber was proud of Bristol City’s response from their Derby humiliation after his side claimed a 3-2 victory at Hull.
The Robins suffered a 5-0 defeat at Ashton Gate last Friday but bounced back at the MKM Stadium to move to within a point of the Sky Bet Championship play-off places.
Struber said: “I’m really happy with the win here but also with how we did it. We worked so hard, and it was teamwork on a really high level.
“After the defeat against Derby, this was a great time to show a reaction with a good performance – and also the chance for momentum.
“I think we had a good energy and preparation. It was not a surprise to see us bounce back.”
Bristol City were good value for three points against a side who had won four of their last five games.
They also had to do it the hard way once Oli McBurnie opened the scoring after 24 minutes.
But the Robins gamely turned the game around by half-time following Rob Atkinson’s header and Ross McCrorie’s cute finish six minutes later.
The visitors added a third after 50 minutes when Emil Riis latched on to Scott Twine’s fine assist, after which a rogue squirrel on the pitch twice led to lengthy disruptions.
Kieran Dowell’s volley after 78 minutes set up a potentially tense finale, but Bristol City played out the remainder of the game with relative ease.
Struber said: “Hull have high-quality players and are really in good form.
“But we found a different behaviour how to play – we pressed higher and were really good in transition.
“We were clear and sharp in what we did, and we were ready for the points.
“The boys were great. With our character, and what we have in the dressing room, it’s a very warm feeling.
“I think we have a good balance and are clear in how we want to do things.
“The table is (only) interesting in the end (of the season), but we should focus on our performance – week to week and game by game.”
Hull head coach Sergey Jakirovic admits managing expectation – the Tigers are well-placed in the top six – is proving a challenge.
He said: “No matter how this season goes, we should all be very proud with what we have achieved – very proud.
“If you had told me we would have had 54 points at this stage of the season, I would have signed for that straight away.
“I know expectation is very high and maybe this is the problem.
“I’m always optimistic and positive and it is me who has to remove the pressure, but we must enjoy this moment.
“Congratulations to Bristol, but maybe we need a reset.”
Jakirovic added: “After our first goal, we brought them into the game with our mistakes. I think we started to give the ball away too easily – and I felt we were too soft in tackles.
“At 3-2, maybe we should be much braver and faster, but we always took one or two extra touches.
“I think we had stability in open play, but the problem was conceding easy goals.
“We tried to make changes because we still believed we could equalise, but they were very fast in transition – we did not do enough.”
