He’s been talking about it all pre-season, his players delivered it on the opening night of the season and after the game Rob Edwards hailed it: commitment and spirit.

The new head coach has worked on building a togetherness within his squad since he arrived at the club, and has spoken regularly of how being unified and working hard for each other can make the difference.

After the 1-0 win over Sheffield United, he cited that as the deciding factor.

“The reason we won the game was because there was a commitment and spirit to run and work hard,” he said.

“You could see that right from front to back, in every player. We asked for intensity in our play, and tonight I thought we saw that for every one of the 96 minutes.

“When we lost the ball we tried our best to get it back as quickly as possible. If it was a recovery run, we made that run as a sprint. When we were looking to get forward into the box, like for the goal, that was done at sprinting speed.

“Without doubt, the most pleasing thing I saw was the togetherness of the players.”

Edwards admitted that when his side went in front and clearly had their tails up, he was hoping for a second to effectively put the game to bed.

“When we scored early in the second half, if I have one complaint it’s that we didn’t push on and get a second,” he said.

“But when we didn’t, the resilience we showed to see the game out relatively comfortably was very good.”

After spending a season under a cloud, Vicarage Road was buzzing before the game, bouncing during it and jubilant after it.

“I thought the team and the fans really bounced off each other well,” said Edwards.

“As soon as we came out of the tunnel, the noise was incredible. I know all the lads felt that in the dressing room after the game, that the fans had played a huge part in getting us across the line.

“We’re going to need the fans throughout the season, and so to be able to reward them tonight with a win was great for us. I know it’s been a long, long time since they’ve seen that at home.

“In the last six minutes, when we were trying to see the game, I sensed the supporters were really with us.

“It was an incredible night in terms of the atmosphere the fans created.”