Sean O'Driscoll congratulated his England U19s side after they opened their Euro qualifiers with a deserved 3-0 win over Belarus - and said he was as pleased with their attitude as he was with their performance.
The Young Lions were on top throughout, with goalkeeper Freddie Woodman only being called into action on one occasion, in the first half.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark, Patrick Roberts added a second shortly after the restart and substitute Bradley Fewster rounded off the victory from the penalty spot.
England 3-0 Belarus
UEFA U19 European Championship
First Qualifying Round
Friday 10 October
Op Flor - Grevenmacher, Luxembourg
O'Driscoll said: "Technically they are all very good players, but it was the other things that we've been talking about this week that laid the foundations for this win.
"I'm talking about their attitude, their commitment, the way they responded to disappointment and missed chances and the way they helped each other on the pitch.
"Players get absolutely bombarded with technical and tactical stuff, but it's all that other stuff that makes the tactical side of things work - and I thought that was evident today."
England began well, with Dele Alli smashing a free-kick just past the angle of post and bar, before Belarus goalkeeper, Maksim Khutko, parried the MK Dons midfielder's shot - as well as efforts from Roberts and Izzy Brown.
Roberts might have scored a hat-trick on another day and his team-mates were made to wait until the 30-minute mark before they got the opener - and O'Driscoll was delighted with their persistence and the desire they showed to win the ball back.
He added: "A bit like the seniors did against San Marino, I thought they showed a great deal of patience. When you play patient football you can sometimes fall into the trap of playing slowly, but I thought we kept the pace up, kept that enthusiasm.
"I told them at half time to not get bored with possession, to keep working hard with the ball. And if and when they played through tight spaces I didn't want them to get disappointed when they lost the ball.
"In fact, what stood out for me was how they reacted when they lost the ball, whether that be through sloppy play or some good defending. I thought we were excellent in that respect."
O'Driscoll continued: "They are a committed group. They have set out on this journey with the aim of trying to win the competition.
"That was the challenge, that was the motivation and we have started in good fashion."
England's second qualifier is against host nation Luxembourg on Sunday, followed by a final match against Belgium next Wednesday.
