Lee Radford was delighted after his Hull FC side moved top of the First Utility Super League table with a 28-16 derby win over Hull KR at St James' Park.
The Black and Whites went into Magic Weekend level on points with Warrington and Catalans and that is how it remained ahead of the final game of the round.
Hull duly took advantage of slip-ups from those teams to establish a two-point lead at the summit with their ninth victory in 10 matches.
"I'm obviously really pleased with the result and the league table," said Hull head coach Radford. "But I think in terms of performance, it probably wasn't as good or as slick as we've been in weeks gone by.
"I think that's credit to Hull KR who made it a really stop-start affair. It took any fluency out of what we did.
"It's a derby and you'll take a win in any manner, but this week it was a different manner again and it was another game which we found a way to win. I've got to credit all the players for doing that."
The turning point in Hull's season came at Widnes in March and Radford insisted he did not doubt his side after that heavy defeat compounded a tough start to the season.
"The Widnes one was a hard one because I was shell shocked," he said. "I didn't think as many incidents in one rugby league game could go against us and I didn't think we could play as bad as that.
"Did I think we had a squad capable of competing in that top four? One hundred per cent. That was the goal from day one and we're at a stage now where we're in and amongst it."
Mahe Fonua opened the scoring for the Airlie Birds in the derby and added a second after the break in a performance which pleased his coach.
"He's going to become a fans' favourite if he carries on playing like that against Hull KR," added Radford. "Some of his contributions were really influential in the game and he's a handful when he carries the ball - he carries it like he's got a tennis ball in his hand. He's a natural footballer."
Rovers had fought back from a 10-0 deficit to lead 16-10 courtesy of tries from Shaun Lunt and Graeme Horne and eight points from the boot of Terry Campese on his return from injury.
But they were unable to see off Hull, who Rovers head coach James Webster believes are capable of winning the Grand Final in October.
"They are a good team - a good fast team - and have a massive squad that is fully fit," he said. "Do I expect them to be pushing for it [the title]? One hundred per cent."