Dean Smith paid tribute to Neal Maupay after the Frenchman came off the bench to inspire Brentford to a 2-0 victory at Birmingham.
The striker won a late penalty that Ollie Watkins converted before scoring himself to wrap up a comfortable three points over a side that signed Jota, Maxime Colin and Harlee Dean from Griffin Park.
But it was Maupay that earned the plaudits from Smith for his hard work being rewarded with goals once again with Lasse Vibe's work-rate praised.
“I'm pleased for Neal Maupay to get his goal. He's been through a tough time starting games. Lasse started on Saturday and today. Neal then came on and won us the game,” he said.
“He's scored his goals in the league coming off the bench. Lasse Vibe got injured and he's put a real tough shift himself. He'd gone unrewarded for a lot of quality and effort.”
Smith, a Villa fan, would be delighted with the three points and insisted he still had a good relationship with the departed Bees.
“It was a good win. I didn't think it was a vintage performance. It was scrappy. If you're insinuating the other side of the city; it was nice to see Gary Shaw at the end,” he added.
“I've got a great relationship with the three players still. I hope Maxime is good as he got an early injury.
“We knew our squad was good enough to compete at this level and Birmingham offered us the money we know we could take.”
Steve Cotterill felt the penalty was harsh on his side but Smith felt it was a justified spot kick.
He explained: “I was up appealing for it. Neal took a touch and the lad went to ground. It's not clear if he got the ball first but it's dangerous to slide there.
“It's the penalty taker's job to stick the ball into the back of the net. He's now our penalty taker until he misses.”
