Mark Robins praised the Sky Blues “courage” after City secured a third straight league win in a five-goal thriller against Stoke City on Wednesday night.
Goals from Tyler Walker, Max Biamou and Viktor Gyokeres handed City all three points at the bet365 Stadium which lifts the Sky Blues 12 points clear of the relegation zone.
The manager was delighted with the spirit his side showed in Staffordshire having twice been pegged back by the Potters.
Robins said: “It’s a massive three points, it was a really tough game, they’re a physical side and you can see how much effort we had to put in, you could tell they had an extra day’s rest in parts of the game.
“We passed the ball really well, the three goals were outstanding, the goals we conceded were poor and gave them a way back in, we were punished with a brilliant strike into the top corner.
“That took the wind out of our sails for five minutes or so, we dealt with everything they threw at us, we started to flag a little bit after the hour, the energy started to wane, I had players on their last legs.
“We needed some energy higher up the field to try and win the game, thankfully they’ve got through it, they showed real spirit and courage to stay on the park.”
Robins also felt that Wednesday night’s win was a massive achievement having claimed successive league victories the previous week.
“To keep creating and to take the chances they did was outstanding, Max and Viktor came on and finished off some really good moves, hopefully we can get everyone fit and ready for the game on Saturday.
“They’ve shown brilliant courage all season, away from home we’ve felt like second class citizens for a large part of it because of our record away from home.
“You know what it takes to win any game of football at any level, at this level you’re playing against top players, they made two substitutions at half time and brought on Steven Fletcher and John Obi Mikel which tells you the stature of this place.
“To keep going and draw the second half is a massive achievement on the back of a monumental week, a lot of that energy that’s been expended is nervous energy from the circumstances.
“They should grow from the experiences they’ve had and the way that they’ve come through it they should be absolutely proud of themselves because I’m proud of them.”