Dean Ashton hailed Steve Cooper for the way he set his Swansea City side up in their play-off semi-final matches against Barnsley.
The Swans' two contests with the Tykes were scrappy and battling affairs, but Cooper's men emerged victorious by a scoreline of 2-1 on aggregate.
It means they will face Brentford in next weekend's showpiece final at Wembley - with a place in the Premier League at stake.
And former striker Ashton says Cooper set his side out for "knockout football" to ensure they overcame Valerien Ismael's outfit.
"He figured out exactly how Barnsley were going to play," he said on EFL on Quest.
"He set them up, he didn't care about playing lovely football.
"It was about the team putting in a performance, getting the ball away and having two centre-backs [Ben Cabango and Marc Guehi] that were absolutely outstanding in both of the legs, two 20-year-olds that dealt with everything that Barnsley threw at them.
"I just love the way he set them up for knockout football."
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With Swansea leading 1-0 from the first leg, Matt Grimes curled beyond Brad Collins to put the hosts 2-0 in the tie 39 minutes into the second leg at the Liberty Stadium.
Cauley Woodrow pulled a goal back for the Yorkshire outfit, although the Swans held on for a 2-1 victory on aggregate.
And ex-striker Clinton Morrison admits he always knew Grimes would go on to succeed at a higher level after playing with the Swans' current captain at Exeter City.
"This is a magnificent goal for Grimes," said Morrison.
"He does ever so well on the edge of the box. He moves the ball so quickly. He manipulates it. The whip is unbelievable and it gives Collins no chance.
"It's a player I'm happy for. I played towards the end of my career at Exeter with Grimes and they spoke about him saying 'this kid will go on to big things'.
"He's now the captain and he's doing ever so well. Credit to him."
The Championship play-off final kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, May 29.
