Steve Meehan admitted he was happy to 'win ugly' after watching Bath grind out a 16-13 win over Leeds.
Leeds coach Key boosted by his side's performance
Bath head coach Steve Meehan admitted he was happy to 'win ugly' after watching his side grind out a 16-13 win over Premiership cellar-dwellers Leeds.
Meehan praised Leeds for their efforts, saying: "We've said it before. They are a side that work very, very hard for one another and you've got to take your opportunities.
"We made life difficult for ourselves. Leeds displayed great spirit and character and were very much up for the match.
"We had three very obvious opportunities to clear our lines after defending very well. But we didn't take any of them and we allowed Leeds to come back and put pressure on us and they ended up levelling the scores. Then we had to fight back over those last 15 minutes."
Meehan reckons his side's second league win in eight days will send out a message to the clubs above Bath in the table.
He added: "I was really, really pleased with some of the attacking endeavour today. Some of the moves were as good as anything in the last few years so we're not far away, that's for sure.
"And our set piece over the last two weeks has been far, far better. Scrum-time was excellent too so I'm delighted the way the forwards are going.
"We're now away from this competition for five weeks and a lot can happen in that time, not just at Bath but everywhere, but it is terrific to start the New Year with two out of two.
"The teams just above us will start to take notice - they know we've got a couple of games in hand. We're in a good position, if we can keep sneaking up on people."
Upbeat
Leeds director of rugby Andy Key was upbeat about his side's prospects, despite the defeat.
"We thought we had done enough in this game to come away with a win," he said.
"If we replicate the performance today in the next 11 games we will avoid relegation, definitely. We're only going to see better performances from this side. We've left it a bit late but it's about looking forward, not back."
Key was delighted with the performance of flanker Hendre Fourie against England skipper Lewis Moody, saying: "He sent out a very positive message to the England selectors about what a dangerous player he is. He contributed massively - he was immense today, unbelievable."