Ian Evatt was delighted to see an opening day victory full of character after seeing his side start their League One campaign with victory.
A 50th Wanderers' goal for Dion Charles and a Victor Adeboyejo strike with his first touch was enough to secure three points at Leyton Orient in a 2-1 win.
Despite being pegged back at the end of the first half through Charlie Kelman after Charles had opened the scoring, Wanderers responded late in the second half to kick off the campaign with maximum points.
For the Whites' boss, and while admitting his side weren't at their free-flowing best, he was delighted to see the strength in his squad to rally and claim the win on the road.
“It wasn’t a vintage performance," he said.
"But we’ve been labelled as fragile in the past - especially away from home - but there was none of that today. We were competitive, full of character and togetherness.
“We’ve put together a really good group of players and the 60-minute mark was really key to bringing some fresh energy into the game, and our changes managed to do that for us.
“In the last half an hour, we had a few good chances before we got the goal and after that, when they’re putting it on you, you’ve got to stand up and fight.
"We’re not the most physical of teams, so to come up against that direct play is difficult but we stuck to it."
With the game deep into stoppage time in the second half, Wanderers had to call upon goalkeeper Nathan Baxter to help secure the victory with a magnificent save at the death to deny Kelman. A save, Evatt says, epitomises why he is rated so hightly.
“Nathan made one brilliant save and that’s why, for me, he’s the best keeper in the league," he said.
"Especially away from home, you need your keeper to win football matches.
“We got beat here last season and it’s a tough place to come and credit to them, they were good. They put us under pressure and forced us to play long. We obviously want to play through but they gave us no space and were aggressive."
In the second half, Evatt rolled the dice and called on his bench options (Osei-Tutu, Matete, McAtee, Lolos, Adeboyejo) in an attempt to secure victory. Within seconds of being introduced, Adeboyejo turned the ball home to secure the points - a fact that delighted Evatt post-game.
“Victor’s positioning is always very good and he was there to put it away. That’s a credit to him" he added.
“All of the changes impacted the game very well and they’re going to get better and improve. It was a really tough game but an important win.
"The whole team were determined and as much as I like to see us be aesthetically pleasing, I do like it when we show that other side to us too.
“It’s a platform and those are the types of games in the past that we wouldn’t have won so that really pleases me. The fans energised the game and so did the subs. I’m delighted we managed to get it over the line.”
Watch the full post-match interview with the Gaffer over on Wanderers TV here...