PETER Gentle cast aside any suggestions he was a relieved man following Hull FC's 34-22 win at Wakefield, insisting his overriding emotion was pride in his players' response.
Overturning a poor start to come away with a comfortable win, FC put their derby loss behind them as they were sparked into life by Hull-born Jamie Shaul on his debut.
The full-back's memorable 60-metre try lit up the contest, before giving a performance which offered plenty of encouragement.
The first of Shaul's two tries was the turning point in a game which also saw two tries for Ben Crooks and further scores for Tom Briscoe and Aaron Heremaia seal a first win in four games.
"I'm not relieved, just proud," explained Gentle. "We have been lacking a lot of self-belief and you could see that confidence and belief grow as the game went on.
"The boys have worked really hard, they've not strayed from our goals and I am really pleased for them. The confidence grew on the back of a good kicking game.
"In isolation it was a very good win against a strong Wakefield team. Coming off a bit of adversity, I am very pleased. We have to knuckle down now, keep working hard and not get away from what we are doing."
Led by Richard Horne's display in the halves, it was Shaul who was the talk of the terraces afterwards as the 20-year-old former bricklayer enjoyed a debut to remember.
With such an impressive performance, questions were asked as to why Shaul did not feature against Hull KR.
But a defiant Gentle said: "The games are always notoriously slower on the Easter Monday so for a young bloke to come in and find his feet was a great opportunity for him.
"He's only been back in training a week and a half and to throw a young kid a debut into a derby game probably wasn't right. This is the way to introduce young players into the game. He was never going to let anyone down."
