BILLY Davies today praised his Nottingham Forest side for coming through a 'man's test' against a previously unbeaten Sheffield Wednesday side at Hillsborough.
The Reds produced some outstanding football in the first half, before demonstrating their character after the break, to hold out for a hard fought but deserved 1-0 success.
The result ended a seven-match unbeaten run for Dave Jones' side – and extended Davies' unbeaten start to four matches.
"They had not lost in seven games and their tails were up. When you come here, you have to be brave, you have to be strong and you have to compete," said Davies.
"In the second half, we lost some fluency. Perhaps that was to do with the pitch. But the back five were excellent. This was a real test. This was a man's test. They are a big, strong side.
"All in all, it was a great effort. I am sure you would agree that our first 45 minutes of play was outstanding. We scored a great goal, we probably should have been further ahead – but our play was excellent.
"In the second half we knew that they would take us back to that end, with their crowd behind the goal. We knew we would have to change our game slightly and head it and kick it better."
Davies says he will not get carried away by the start he has made since returning for a second spell at the club.
"In the end, it was a very important three points. But I am not fooled, this is a very tough league. A couple of wins can take you up and a couple of losses can take you down," he said.
"I am very proud of the performance, it was a great three points, an excellent clean sheet and the first time we have won three games in a row all season, which is pleasing."
Davies felt that a heavy pitch might have had an influence on the game, particularly in the second half.
"I was very surprised how moist the pitch was before the game, there must have been a lot of rain here overnight," said Davies.
"It made life difficult, as you know. We had some tired legs because of that. Let's not take anything away from the home team, because they put us under pressure. They kept putting balls in on top of our back four.
"They made us drop deeper and deeper. But our keeper was excellent, he handled it well and the back four were good too, they were very competent."