Motherwell manager Graham Alexander praised his side's mentality after a crucial win over Kilmarnock.
The win, courtesy of Allan Campbell's brilliant second-half finish, moves the Steelmen four points above Killie in ninth place.
It was a fiercely competitive encounter on a freezing night in Ayrshire but Alexander was delighted his side responded to the weekend defeat to Celtic.
He said: "It was a brilliant result. It was a great three points and a clean sheet which is our first in a while.
"It was disappointing to lose to Celtic on Saturday but the players have shown great character to bounce back and win. It was a grind at times, it was a really tough game and I thought that both teams competed.
"We were just striving to get the bit of quality to win the game and Allan Campbell found it.
"Kilmarnock were very well organised and really hard to break down. We didn't have that many opportunities at goal tonight and we had to try to take advantage of dead ball situations or play quicker when we could.
The 49 year-old manager played a small role in Motherwell's winner as he threw the ball to Jake Carroll and urged him to up the tempo.
The left-back followed orders by taking a quick throw in the build-up to Campbell's winner and Alexander was full of praise for the Scotland Under-21 international.
He said: "I threw the ball to Jake and he's took a quick throw to Tony {Watt} ,who held it up well, and it was a great finish from Allan Campbell.
"He deserved it because he was superb on Saturday - the best player on the park.
"We know all about what he can do all around the pitch but he can certainly score goals. That's two in his last two games and I'm delighted for him."
The win moves Motherwell eight points ahead of rivals Hamilton ahead of a huge Lanarkshire derby on Saturday.
The Steelmen are slowly edging away from being embroiled in a relegation battle but Alexander is refusing to get carried away.
He said: "I'm not sure about that {the win gives us breathing space}. We've got another big game on Saturday and we will have to recover quickly and show the same amount of energy.
"The team has stayed the same in the last three games and they've came in quick succession with real high energy.
"The players have displayed their professionalism and their fitness levels to keep competing. We know we've got some good players who aren't in the team at the minute who can come on and help us.
"There is no breathing space and we can't think like that. We can't drop down a gear and think that we are okay, we need to keep the peddle to the floor."
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