Ryan Lowe was full of praise for his Preston North End side following the 3-1 victory over Blackpool in the West Lancashire derby.
Brad Potts – formerly of the visitors – opened the scoring with a rocket, before Ben Whiteman then netted a great goal of his own from a 20-yard free-kick.
In the early stages of the second half, Tom Cannon made it three and North End took all three points, despite a late consolation by Jerry Yates.
Ryan said: “I thought the way we played, the way we moved the ball and the aggression of all the players in and out of possession was fantastic.
“These derby matches count for everything, so hopefully our fans enjoy that and we’ve sent them home happy with three big points and three brilliant goals.
“Pottsy’s goal was a great strike, Whiteman did fantastically well to seize the moment and find the bottom corner from the free-kick, then TC with a disguised finish to cap off a great counter-attacking goal.
“We know that type of performance is in those lads, that two or three per cent extra. And we knew we had to give that level of performance today to get the three points.”
It was a fantastic atmosphere at Deepdale all afternoon long, as the North End faithful watched on as their side dominated the game.
The manager’s iconic fist pump made a return at full-time as he, the players and the fans celebrated the derby day victory together.
“The stadium was rocking and the fans were bouncing, especially when the third goal went in,” he said. “The atmosphere was brilliant but we have to do that again.
“I’ve been wanting to do the fist bump for ages. It shows my passion and that I care.”
The gaffer wants the group to cherish these three points but not get too carried away, with important games still to come.
Lowe said: “We’ll enjoy the moment and the weekend, but then it’s back to work on Monday ahead of the QPR game.
“We’ve got a small target of points we want to achieve over the next two games, and then we’ll get back after the Easter weekend and see where it takes us.
“I may even have a celebratory drink tonight as well!”