Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says today's 2-0 win at promotion rivals Bolton Wanderers can be 'big for belief.
George Hirst and Cameron Burgess scored either side of a Christian Walton penalty save as the Blues moved to within two points of League One's automatic promotion places.
"It was a performance to really enjoy," said McKenna, whose side have now won five games in a row.
"It was full of determination, grit and organisation, plus we produced and executed in the big moments when we needed to. That's what games like today are always about.
"It probably wasn't ever going to be a free-flowing and pretty game. One, because of the conditions, but also because of the stage of the season it is with both teams fighting like mad for points.
"There were so many good things about our performance from a mentality point of view. To see the growth, both individually and collectively, from the first game of the season against Bolton (1-1 home draw) is really pleasing."
MORE: Andy Warren's player ratings following Town's 2-0 win at Bolton.
Hirst's opener just before the break was an expert finish on the run following Wes Burns' 60-yard dash up the right.
"Great goal," enthused McKenna. "Of course it's very good from Wes and George is really sharp with those movements.
"I think there's a really good forward in there to be honest. He needs to get games, get a rhythm and get confidence, but there's a really good player in there and he showed that today."
Burgess' foul on Conor Bradley gave Bolton the chance to level from the spot early in the second half, but Walton dived to his left to keep out Dion Charles' penalty attempt.
"That was massive," admitted McKenna. "That was probably the one moment of the game, those couple of minutes, where you could say there was a big area for us to learn from and work on.
"It was a clear free-kick on Wes in the build-up, right in front of the linesman, the fourth official and the ref, and they didn't give it.
"The players didn't handle the emotion of that well enough, we didn't defend the next couple of phases because you could see they were still angry with the decision. We need to move on quicker.
"Tactically we weren't right either in terms of opening up passing lanes and allowing them to combine into the box.
"But it's a big save from Christian. In my opinion, we've not had many breaks or bits of luck that have gone our way this season. That's two penalty saves now and is hopefully a sign of things evening up for us on that front."
The Blues boss continued: "It can be a big one for the belief in the squad. We've overcome quite a few different hurdles this season and done a few things that the club hasn't done before, but this is the first time we've come away to a big stadium and won. We'd come close a few times, but not managed it against an opponent of this level this season.
"You can see how well we managed the game at the end, you could see the learning the players have gone through.
"At the same time it's only three points. It's the same three points that are on offer next week against Shrewsbury. We have to fight for every point between now and the end of the season with the same vigour we did today."
Six successive clean sheets is a new club record. On that, McKenna said: "It's not something that we've spoken about loads to be honest.
"If I'm honest I don't think we've been doing anything different to what we've been doing all season.
"We haven't been conceding many chances all season. At the start of the season we were conceding goals from very, very, very few chances against and recently we've not been conceding from very, very few chances against.
"I think you could say we've been defending our box better recently. We've shown more resilience with blocks. It's good to see we're earning some of the margins going our way."
Town now have 10 games to go, starting with the visit of eighth-place Shrewsbury next Saturday.
"There is still 30 points to play for," said McKenna. "For me it's about focusing on what we can do better from today and making sure we get a result against Shrewsbury.
"I think we've taken some really big strides over the last few weeks. I thought Bristol Rovers (0-0 away) was a really big moment for us. I said that after the game. You could feel the spirit in the dressing room. I felt the belief of the players in what we are doing and the willingness to stick together.
"We've had some good wins over the last few games. This is a different type of win, no doubt. That can springboard you, but only if you back it up in the next game.
"People probably thought Anfield last week (Liverpool beating Manchester United 7-0) was a big moment - it's about what happens in the next game (Liverpool lost 1-0 at Bournemouth today).
"We have to take confidence and belief from today, but we have to back it up against Shrewsbury next week."
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