Liam Rosenior lauded the quality of his team’s play after rampant Hull City ruthlessly brushed aside relegation-threatened Rotherham United.
The Tigers led 3-0 inside 20 minutes, courtesy of tap-ins from Tyler Morton and Scott Twine, either side of an exceptional backheeled finish from Jaden Philogene, who added another straight after half-time.
Grant Hall’s looped header was nothing more than a consolation as City cantered to a third consecutive home win to climb back into the Sky Bet Championship’s top six.
“I’m delighted that the work we’re putting in on the training ground, in every aspect of the game, is starting to show more consistently,” said Rosenior.
“Not just today, but for a dodgy 15-minute spell against Swansea, we’re looking a very good team at this level.
“Credit to all the players, not just the ones that started the game but the lads who came on and the lads who are supporting the lads who are going on the pitch.
“There’s a nice feel around the team and around the club, and hopefully that continues.”
The boss added: “I wanted us to score early. I wanted us to be a little bit more front footed from the start and we certainly were.
“Some of our passages of play, from minute one to minute 95, were outstanding.
“This has been coming for me. I’m delighted that happened but what we can’t do is give ourselves too much of a pat on the back because this league is relentless.
“If you’re not consistent and you do switch off, any team in this league can punish you.”
Liverpool loanee Morton got the ball rolling after five minutes, following up after Liam Delap was thwarted by Viktor Johansson, for this third goal in as many matches for club and country.
“Some of his play, honestly,” Rosenior enthused. “He can do everything as a midfield player.
“When we were recruiting in the summer, he fits completely into the way we want to play.
“The beauty with Tyler is he can play deep and he can be just as effective there, but what we’ve seen in training is he can create and score goals.
“It was about fitting the functionality of the team around him. He was outstanding.”
England Under-21 teammate Philogene tormented the struggling Millers, taking his tally of goal contributions in black and amber to 11.
“He's a joy to work with and he’s enjoying his football. We’ve got to keep enjoying him and he’s starting to add so much more to his game.
“He’s a great kid and we’ve got to make sure our stories are successful together.”
Twine’s simple close-range finish, again after Delap was denied, broke his City duck and Rosenior was complimentary of his all-round contribution.
“I’m delighted for him because he’s deserved it,” said Rosenior.
“He made a huge difference in the game against Swansea when we moved him into the number 10 position.
“Scott has got undoubted quality in terms of scoring goals and assists – he created the goal for Lewie Coyle at West Brom – but he does a lot of the unseen stuff and knits the team together so well.
“His understanding of the game, he makes great runs, he presses so well. We’ve changed our way of playing this season – we’re more front footed, we press higher and Scott is a massive part of that.
“For him to get his just rewards for all of his hard work makes me happy and hopefully he can go on a run like Tyler now.”