Jose Mourinho poured adulation over the Manchester United fans in the wake of Wednesday night's win over derby rivals Manchester City.
The Red Devils recoiled swiftly from Sunday's disappointing 4-0 loss to Chelsea by beating Pep Guardiola's City 1-0 in the fourth round of the EFL Cup at Old Trafford.
Mourinho spoke glowingly of the amazing support he and his players received from the United faithful in the wake of the weekend's loss in London, prompting he and his team to give them something to cheer about in the form of a cup triumph over their local rivals.
"I'm happy, the players did everything and they deserved to win," he told Sky Sports.
"Obviously we are happy especially because in the last weekend everything went against us but we are professionals.
"The fans felt deeply such a negative result and today was a good chance to clean a little bit that feeling because its always difficult to win a derby and a knockout against Man City.
"I think this gives everyone a better felling and I'm happy for all the players and the fans."
Touching on the importance of bouncing back from the Chelsea loss for the good of the club and it's supports, Mourinho added: "We were in a good run of results, in the last seven we lost one, but it was a big defeat..
"Numbers that the history of this club doesn't deserve and obviously when I'm in a club, my heart belongs to the fans and I feel especially deeply for them.
"The reality is I never had people like these ones.
"We lost 4-0 and they supported. Today the stadium was full, not full of people, full of real support.
"It looks like the love people have for the club is bigger after three bad seasons so we must give something back.
"Independent of the result, we could have lost, but I would have the same feelings for my players. They gave everything.
"The players show they really care, they care for the fans and fought for them."
Juan Mata scored the only goal of the contest in the 54th minute to send United through to the quarter-finals where they will take on West Ham United at home in late November.