Roy Keane's vow to take a 'cool and calm' approach to management paid off handsomely as Sunderland staged a rousing second-half fightback to beat Derby 2-1 in his first game in charge.
Keane insisted no dressing-room fireworks were required despite Matt Oakley's 45th-minute strike threatening to turn his high-profile dug-out debut into a forgettable one.
Instead the Black Cats hit back with second-half goals from Chris Brown and Ross Wallace.
Keane said: 'I had very little to say at half-time except to keep their heads and trust one another. It was a great test of character and they reacted exactly the way I thought they would.'
'I told them when I took over that it is all about character and if you have got it you will go a long way. They have got character and in addition they are good players too.'
Keane had made an impassive start to life on the sidelines, taking a full half hour before what he believed to have been a handball in the Derby box prompted him to give the assistant referee an ear-full.
'That is the plan,' grinned Keane of his intended level-headed manner. 'Obviously it will take a little while to get used to sitting on the sidelines but it felt okay today.'
Keane's half-time satisfaction was largely justified after seeing his side shade the first 40 minutes, Liam Miller having their best chance with a rising long-range effort.
But the Rams ended the half strongly, with the dangerous Steve Howard clattering the crossbar and Ryan Smith seeing a low shot turned around the post.
Oakley grabbed the opener when Mo Camara's cross from the left was headed back across goal by Howard, and the former Southampton man steered the ball home.
But it was a different story in the second half as a Sunderland side featuring five debutants finally began to gel and were rewarded when Brown poked home on the hour after goalmouth scramble.
It would get better three minutes later when Wallace, springing clear into the left side of the box, swept a fine left-footed shot low past Stephen Bywater to grab Sunderland's second.
Keane added: 'Hopefully we can play even better in future and in the last 10 to 15 minutes I thought we could have kept the ball a bit more. But overall it was a very good performance.'
