Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White said he could "finally breathe again" after the Premier League side ended a two-month winless run with a 2-0 Europa League victory over Porto on Thursday in Sean Dyche's first game in charge.
Gibbs-White put Forest ahead from the penalty spot in the 19th minute before Igor Jesus converted another late in the second half as Forest secured only their second home win of the season.
"I feel like I can finally breathe," the 25-year-old midfielder told TNT Sports. "It's been a difficult couple of months here with all the changes that have happened, the bad performances.
"To do it here at the City Ground on a European night is an incredible feeling and there is no-one that deserves it more than the fans."
Forest entered the game on a four-match losing streak and had not won since the opening day of the season, leading to the dismissal of manager Nuno Espirito Santo and the sacking of his successor Ange Postecoglou on Saturday.
"It's only been one game and we've only had a few training sessions, but you can feel the morale within the stadium," Gibbs-White said.
"You can feel the morale within the group, it feels a lot higher, a lot more energetic, a lot more positive and that's the way it needs to be. It needs to stay like that for us to continue and try to push forward. That's credit to the manager."
Forest, who finished seventh last season, are 18th with five points from eight games. They visit Bournemouth on Sunday.
