Mark Robins praised the Sky Blues “bravery” after they defeated Lincoln City 1-0 to move back into the Sky Bet League One play-off places on Saturday afternoon.
Zain Westbrooke’s goal on 32 minutes, firing a low effort into the bottom left corner, proved decisive and sends City up to fifth in the table.
Robins was delighted with three points and believes the performance was one of the best his side has managed this season.
Robins said: “I thought we were brilliant. They had a 10-minute spell in the second half that I wasn’t too happy with, but we saw it through which was probably as a consequence of not scoring enough.
“We were really brave. Some of the passing movements and some of the efforts were outstanding. I’m delighted with the bravery that we showed once again.
“From now until the end of the season I just want them to go and play without any fear whatsoever.
“There’s still signs of fear which comes as a consequence of the late goals we’ve conceded away from home.
“A clean sheet was really needed, the three points were even more needed, given we’ve not got a game on boxing day which means our next game is at Wycombe.
“I’m delighted with the result, but the performance was absolutely up there with the best this season.”
The manager also thought it was crucial to bounce back after throwing away the lead against Shrewsbury Town last weekend.
“It was key to get three points today because we lost the last game, where we were in control of it and threw it away.
“We still did things today that crept in from last week’s performance, if you allow it to, and that’s what happened in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“They made a change, they brought Akinde on and he’s huge, so it’s how you deal with him and we were able to stop the delivery at source.”
The game also saw Matty Godden complete his first 90 minutes in a couple of months with Robins pleased with how the striker handled his return to the starting lineup.
He also praised match winner Westbrooke but wants to see his side have more shots at goal.
“We were running out of legs towards the end, it was Matty Godden’s first 90 minutes for two or three months and he handled it pretty well.
“We’ve performed really well, and Zain was obviously key to that, he had a few shots and the main one that was on target, we scored from it.
“We’re playing our football and passing, that’s fine, but we have to convert that into proper shots on goal, following in, and getting bodies in the box.
"There’s a lot of good things that came from the game and I’m delighted with it.”