With the Cottagers enjoying a good season in their own right, Santo was impressed with how his team performed on Tuesday.
After the points deduction it was very important we had some urgency of getting good results," Nuno told reporters after the Premier League win.
This is what we fight for. At the end of the day it is about points, and we need them desperately.
I'm pleased with the performance, and obviously pleased with the result. The result was a consequence of the performance.
I think it worked out because of the players. Our idea was clear - to go for the game, to try to ignite and get this energy from the City Ground. The players did that, so we are pleased.
I'm going to be honest, this togetherness we have has been present every day since we arrived - with Steve (Cooper) also. They are a very good group of people and they know they need this togetherness to get through.
With all the noise that's going on around us it's very hard to keep that, but the credit goes to the players because they are sticking with their tasks. We know it was important for us today, but let's not get over the moon. There is still a long way to go.
More than comparing to other moments, this is how we want to do things. This is how we want to move forwards, not up and down, up and down. We want to sustain our levels of performance game by game - this is our major challenge."