Scotland coach Frank Hadden said his side's 15-9 victory over England at Murrayfield has silenced their critics.
"I told them not to lose their confidence despite all the sniping and the pressure we were under," Hadden told BBC Sport.
"That one was for the supporters and not for the critics.
"It's not easy to maintain your confidence with that level of negativity. That's what made the performance all the more remarkable."
Hadden was forced into making two first-half changes when Scotland Rory Lamont and Ross Ford sustained early injuries.
Lamont had to be taken off on a stretcher after a sickening collision with England's Iain Balshaw that left the Scotland winger unconscious.
"Rory is still in hospital, but he's OK"
Lamont's absence meant Chris Paterson had to abandon his fly-half role in favour of replacement Dan Parks, with the Gloucester utility back moving to the wing.
"We lost a couple of influential guys in Rory and Ross," said Hadden.
"But I had told the guys on the bench before the game that they could be influential and so it proved."
Hadden praised the courage of Lamont, who was caught flush in the face by Balshaw's knee before being carried off on a stretcher.
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"Rory is still in hospital, but he's OK," said the coach.
"It was a head knock, but he's stable - so we are monitoring his situation at the moment.
"I was surprised Rory didn't kick it out. That was a very brave thing to do and I think it set the tone for the bravery we showed throughout.
"I felt we didn't have a great deal of luck in the first few rounds of the championship, but I felt we had a little bit of luck today."
Indeed, Hadden paid tribute to his side's defensive abilities against a much-fancied English side.
"We knew it going to be tough up front and it was a Herculean effort from our lighter pack to perform as they did - especially in the set-piece and also around the ruck area," he added.
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