Michael Skubala spoke with pride after City’s hard-fought 1-0 away win at Oxford United on Tuesday night.
Danny Mandroiu’s penalty at the start of the second period sealed the away success as the Imps moved within two points of the sixth-placed U’s, with two games of the season left to play.
Skubala said: “Before the game I told them they’re a special group, they play for the shirt – just give everything and everything will be enough, and then we’ll see what happens in the end. What you saw tonight was a team.
“I can’t really pick anyone out. You saw what a team they are and what resillience they have. I’m just so proud of them again.
“We said let’s keep it alive, let’s put pressure on them going into their game against Stevenage on Friday, and I’m so pleased with them.
“We knew we couldn’t come here and dominate the ball, but we felt we could change shape without the ball, get a bit of higher pressure on them and catch them on the counter-attack. We did a couple of times and as the game progressed, we settled into the game and had more chances.
“To a man, the players stuck to the game plan really well.
“It was a great, cool penalty from Danny to win it. In the end, we won headers and put bodies on the line, and saw it through.
“We reacted really well after the Wigan game at the weekend. Three points at Oxford at any stage of the season is a great three points.”
Reeco Hackett came off early in the first half and Skubala added: “We think he’s dislocated his shoulder. He’s gone straight to hospital, so we’ll see how he is.”
More than 1,100 fans made the trip to back the team at the Kassam Stadium, with the boss saying: “We can see how proud the fans were of the lads. They were brilliant and we’re so thankful for the support.
“Let’s be honest, Oxford are still in the driving seat but we’ll go to Cheltenham on Saturday aiming for three points again.”