Mark Robins felt the 2-1 win at Hull has allowed Stoke to “take the handbrake off” after he claimed a first Sky Bet Championship win as their new manager.
The visitors gamely recovered from Eliot Matazo’s sixth-minute opener with goals from debutant Ali Al-Hamadi and substitute Andrew Moran.
Robins, whose side had won just two away games this season, said: “If you put that sort of effort in, the quality will come through.
“We have young players trying to find their way through but they’ve got the skill and got the ability – I see it every day in training.
“At the moment we are in a situation where we’ve not won enough games so it’s a bit of a confidence thing.
“This result gives us a bit of belief and showed what we can do. It has allowed us to take the handbrake off.
“It took us a bit of time to get going but I’m delighted with three points that should give us a boost and a bit of belief.”
Stoke’s victory moves them five points clear of the relegation zone but they had to do it the hard way once Matazo scored from a well-worked short corner.
Robins’ side responded well from that early concession and equalised just before the interval when Al-Hamadi cashed in on Cody Drameh’s bad mistake.
Both sides had their chances during an unpredictable second half.
But Moran emerged the matchwinner after 74 minutes with an instinctive control and hit off Lewis Koumas’ wayward attempt at goal.
Stoke have now won on their last four visits to the MKM Stadium but Robins was far more focused upon his side’s endeavours to move clear of the drop zone.
He added: “We’ve lots of work to do but we’ll look forward to it.
“It was a great result in the end. We didn’t get going until they scored, which was too late.
“There is still loads to do and so much to get into but we are getting there.
“I thought we were OK in the game. We passed the ball pretty well and defended pretty well when we needed to but I’m still looking for more.”
Hull have the worst home record in the league – they have won just twice at the MKM Stadium all season – and are now two points above the bottom three.
Head coach Ruben Selles said: “A game is a game – it doesn’t matter whether it’s at home or away.
“I think we need to continue to work and find that moment when everything works for us at home.
“I understand that fans will want to see more victories at home.
“It’s frustrating for everyone. We are all in it together and if we were not getting the result we want I, and the team, need to do things better.
“I think we controlled for 42 minutes of the game and created enough situations to score a second goal.
“But that’s the Championship – when you are in these situations you have to be ruthless and, unfortunately, we conceded a goal from one isolated action.
“Their two goals were disappointing so we need to speak to individuals and as a team about how we go through these moments.
“The second half was not as good as the first but we were still creating situations.
“We did a lot of good things in the game – more than enough to get a result.
“We need to continue to work on those situations that are stopping us from winning games.”
