Chris Cohen hailed the spirit and togetherness of the Imps as they secured a memorable victory at Bolton Wanderers.
City produced a determined defensive display to protect their advantage and register their first league victory of the Championship campaign - a first win in the second tier since April 1961
Cohen felt the manner of the victory demonstrated the qualities which have underpinned the Imps’ progress in recent seasons.
He said: “Tom Shaw and I are lucky to have staff working with us who give really good plans in terms of match plans, formations, tactics and technical work, but that was a result based on spirit. That’s the thing we and the club have had for a number of years now.
“In the second half, to see the lads fighting for each other and willing to put their bodies on the line, alongside loads of really good bits, made us very proud to stand there and watch them.”
City had already demonstrated their ability to compete at Championship level during the opening weeks of the campaign, but Cohen was pleased to see those performances rewarded with three points.
He added: “As much as you can have some great performances, like away at Middlesbrough and obviously in both games in the Carabao Cup, you still just want to get that first three points.
“We’ve had four away games in our first five. We won at Derby, won at Blackpool and now we’ve beaten Bolton. To win three of those games is a really strong start to the season.
“It keeps showing these players what me, Tom and the rest of the staff know - which is they’re good enough, more than good enough, to fight and compete at this level."
The Imps had to withstand significant pressure as the hosts searched for an equaliser, with goalkeeper George Wickens and City’s defence producing a series of important interventions.
Cohen said: “George was saving it with every part of his body! Everyone, to a man, was excellent, and the boys who came on had real impacts as well in a really difficult situation.
“It’s the hardest time to come on, when you’re 1-0 up, and affect a football match, whether that’s with a defensive action or an attacking action. I thought all of them really accelerated the performance.
“It wasn’t easy. Bolton are a top team and they’ll beat loads of teams here.
“There are definitely moments where we can be better, but overall the spirit, the fight and everything we want to be as a football club came out in droves today.”
The result also provided a memorable moment for the travelling Imps, with Cohen particularly pleased that the supporters were able to celebrate City’s first Championship league victory for more than six decades.
He said: “They backed us right to the end. They always do, win, draw or lose, but I’m just so happy for that group of supporters who have got to see Lincoln City win a game in the Championship for the first time in 65 years. Those moments are why we do this work.
“You see it every time you come into our training ground. The boys aren’t just team-mates, they’re friends and they care about each other. The new boys have added another level to that.
“We just hope we can keep picking up results. We’ll do absolutely everything we can and, if we have the spirit we showed and help the boys with the game plans, we’ll have a good chance.”