Pelle Mattsson believes Norwich City showed a better level of intensity as they responded to Saturday's defeat to Millwall by beating Cardiff City 2-1 in the Carabao Cup.
The midfielder captained the side with Kenny McLean starting on the bench, and was pleased to see the Canaries progress to the third round despite feeling there was still room for improvement.
“I think it's a good result,” Mattsson said. “I think we could have done better. The performance wasn't that good, but it was a better performance than Millwall and that's a step up.
“It was good.”
Mattsson felt City's approach to the physical side of the contest was crucial to their success at Cardiff City Stadium.
“I think we were ready for the duels,” he said. “We were ready with the aggression and the intensity. I think that was the main point for today.
“We could have done better with the ball to open up their block and their defence, but in the end, when you get through the cup, you're always happy.”
The Danish midfielder was involved in a number of physical battles throughout the evening, picking up an early yellow card after several fouls.
“I like to tackle and go into the duels, so sometimes you win the ball and sometimes you make a free-kick,” he said.
“Today maybe it was a bit too much, but that's just the player I am.”
Mattsson was among those celebrating wildly when Ante Crnac came off the bench to score the winning goal just minutes into his return from a 10-month injury absence.
“I'm so happy for Ante,” he said. “Everybody in the club - players, staff, everyone - is so happy for Ante.
“He's worked really, really hard and it's tough being out for a year or so with an ACL. Coming back now, showing his quality, we're just so happy for him.
“You see the fans cheering for him. It's a special moment and, just talking about it, you get goosebumps. That's what football is about.
“Ante is such a good guy and we're just so happy for him.”
The celebrations saw the entire Norwich bench empty as they joined Crnac in celebrating his goal.
“It just shows how much it means for all of us,” Mattsson added. “The unity in this group is so big and we're so close to each other.
“That shows that everyone wants to help Ante. We helped him getting back and he did a lot of things to get back, and now he's finally here.
“Scoring a goal couldn't have been much better.”
With City now into the third round of the Carabao Cup, Mattsson says the team's approach does not change because of the competition.
“We want to win every game,” he said. “When we go into a game, we want to show our quality and get a win. It doesn't change just because it's the cup.
“When we get here to Cardiff and travel a long way, we want to do really, really well. Today we got through and we're all happy.”
Mattsson also provided a positive update on his own fitness, while highlighting the contributions of some of City's newer and returning players.
“I'm feeling good now,” he said. “I'm happy being back and have no pain, and I feel really good.
“It's also nice to see some of the new guys coming in, Darlin and Ante, for example, just getting into the group and helping in general. That was nice to see as well.”
With the Carabao Cup tie now settled, Mattsson's focus has already turned towards City's next Championship fixture at Carrow Road.
“We can't really think about the league game before we have a game here,” he said. “We take the challenges in the way they come, or in the order they come.
“Now we just got through the cup and we're all happy. We're ready for Saturday and have a go at home to show maybe a better performance than today.
“To get a win in the Championship, that would be great.”