Caretaker manager Brian Eastick gave the credit to Stuart Pearce after watching the England Under-21s thrash Belgium 4-0 in Middlesbrough to take control of their Euro 2013 qualifying group.
Henri Lansbury scored a brace - including a stunning opener nine minutes in - either side of a Stephen Caulker goal before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored an injury-time penalty to put England eight points clear of Norway, who have two games in hand.
With Pearce taking charge of the senior squad against Holland at Wembley, Eastick made the step up from the Under-20s at the Riverside, but was delighted with the professionalism shown by the team amid the changes.
"It's testament to the foundations that Stuart has laid in the last four years," Eastick said of the win. "The players have been terrific. The message has been business as usual. We're sending the same message to the players in terms of principles of play."
Although the scoreline was emphatic Eastick was able to pick some holes, having been unhappy with the chances Belgium were offered once Lansbury's second had made it 3-0 after 52 minutes.
"Having got ourselves into a great position, at 2-0 and 3-0 up, we need to control the game better, be more tactically astute, because if we play against top quality teams like Spain or Germany they could exploit that.
"From my point of view there was far too much going end to end in the final stages."
Lansbury's opening goal stunned not only Belgium but all 23,000 in the ground as the West Ham man floated the ball into the net from deep on the left wing.
Eastick said Lansbury had initially tried to claim it had been deliberate in the dressing room, but the on-loan Arsenal forward was more honest after the game.
"I'd taken a bad touch and it was all I could really do to put it in the box, and the wind has carried it," he said, before adding with a laugh: "I did see the keeper off his line though."
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Oxlade-Chamberlain and debutant Wilfried Zaha were a constant thorn in the side of Belgium with their pace, and Eastick believes Oxlade-Chamberlain will have learnt more by playing in Middlesbrough than if he had been at Wembley with the seniors.
"He's an outstanding talent," Eastick said. "He got a good 90 minutes here. If he was with the senior squad he might have been on the bench or in the stands, so we thought it was important for his football education to play here tonight.
"Stuart Pearce has been quite honest about his role with the under-21s. He's a very talented player and he will eventually play for the senior team. But he's played an important part in a big match tonight and that will hold him in good stead."
