Hull City manager Steve Bruce paid his compliments to his side for holding their nerve after conceding an early goal against AS Trencin.
It seemed that the Tigers are to be facing a humiliating Europa League third qualifying round exit against the Slovakian slide after the guests went ahead at the KC Stadium inside two minutes through Tomas Malek.
Ahmed Elmohamady, however, took the same height for the Premier League side in the 27th minute before Sone Aluko stepped off the bench to score the winner 10 minutes from time and book Bruce's side a berth in the play-offs for the group stage.
"The first thing I said to them was make sure you concentrate." the Hull City boss said.
"Thankfully, in the end we stuck with it and got the winner, which I think overall we deserved, we had some great chances and at this level you have to take them."
Bruce is aware that his side will be facing much tougher tasks this upcoming season with the added workload of European fixtures. Also, the burden of greater expectations will be carried on their shoulders as they have endured the top flight last term and reaching the FA Cup final.
The players, he said, have got a good spirit amongst them which is very essential for the entire team. "We are under no illusions as to how difficult it is," he added.
"We had a good season last year, so we've got to make sure we are ready for the challenge now."
"For me, that was always the biggest challenge - the second season in - because there was no expectation last year at all."
"The players have got the effort and determination to try and succeed."
