Roberto Mancini has praised the "solid foundations" his Inter Milan side has laid after Saturday's 1-0 win over fellow title-rivals Roma saw the Nerazzurri go top of the Serie A table.
It's the sixth time out of seven games that Internazionale have won by a 1-0 result, and Mancini says that it is all down to hard work.
"A team is like a house, if you don't have solid foundations, it will sink. We had a great game against an excellent Roma side, so 1-0 was a good result," the Inter boss said in his post-match news conference.
"We have to work hard the way we did tonight, as the lads were fantastic and it wasn't easy. I am glad the fans enjoyed themselves too.
"With the counter-attacks we had, we should've done better and in future we will need to make more of those."
Mancini also heralded Gary Medel who, making his 54th appearance for Inter, scored the match-winner just after the half hour mark.
"Medel is an extraordinary player, can take on many roles, is smart, has technique too," Mancini said.
"I think he's great, I don't know if others underestimate him."
Star striker Mauro Icardi was benched for the match, but Mancini said that the move was for tactical, rather than disciplinary reasons.
"It was our decision because we didn't want to give Roma reference points," Mancini explained. "We needed technical players who could attack them down the flanks. That is all.
"I needed a fresh player to attack the space, as [Stevan] Jovetic had worked hard and I wanted someone who could attack the space. Jovetic did very well, he really sacrificed himself for the team."
Roma manager Rudi Garcia said that the Giallorossi's defeat was undeserved. The Romans had almost twice as many shots on goal as the hosts and 59 percent of the possession at the San Siro.
"I look at the game in general," Garcia said. "It looks to me like an undeserved defeat. The numbers say we didn't put in an excellent performance, but it was a good one.
"We lacked determination in front of goal, but if we play like this in future, we will win many games. [Inter keeper Samir] Handanovic was Man of the Match and that says it all."
New Roma recruit Edin Dzeko missed several good chances on goal, but his manager refused to single him out.
"He needs to play regularly in order to increase his fitness levels," Garcia said.
"We could've taken the lead and that would've changed the game. We deserved at least a draw, even just for the chances we created when down to 10 men.
"In the first half Edin was too isolated, but we improved after the break. When we cross, we don't necessarily have to aim for Dzeko, as there are other options."