Big Sam was in buoyant mood in tonight's post-match press conference having watched his side overcome a resilient Hull City to record their first win by a three-goal margin since November 2013...

Sam: a bit of a Tuesday night hangover in the first half, but you stepped it up a gear in the second?

What was the problem with James Collins?

You've got a really tough schedule coming up, you're playing nearly all of the top six in the next month or so. Was it important to get that win today?

Were you disappointed by the boos at half time? It wasn't like you were losing the game or anything.

What was the reason behind starting Winston on the bench today?

No, I wasn't.

It wasn't an injury concern or anything like that?

Last year, when you played Hull, the fans gave you a bit of stick...

What I wanted to ask you was about how the club have progressed?

Yes. I think our efforts on Tuesday night left us a little bit lethargic in the first half. We found it difficult to cope with Hull City, the shape they played in and the way they were closing us down. I think we were a little lucky we didn't lose a goal in that period.In the second half we changed the system and played with a more positive attitude in terms of passing the ball forward quicker. We we were taking so long trying to pass the ball in the first half, it allowed Hull to get most of their men back behind the ball then win the ball and hit us on the break - which they did very well, apart from not scoring.So moving the ball forward quicker, with a bit more accuracy, with Andy up front, Valencia, Stewart in the hole and Kevin coming from a deeper role. It paid off in the end and our performance got a lot better. The quality of our goals too; one hitting the target from Enner Valencia with Andy following in because the 'keeper didn't hold it.The quality of the next two goals that finished Hull off was what we've been looking for in the past few weeks. For me, the biggest thing is the clean sheet - I've been talking about clean sheets for the last five or six weeks, and how many we haven't got that we should have got. We got one today and if we can keep that up we'll improve.I think we'll always score goals, and in every game, so that would be us turning more games into victories rather than draws and hopefully not many defeats.He felt a spasm in his back; he got kneed in the back just before half time. We said we'd go out and see how it goes in the first five minutes and at least he put his hand up when he felt it starting to get worse. We had Winston on the bench, which was no problem for us.We changed Mark Noble, who did a great job on Tuesday night. His legs were running out of steam. Morgan came on and made a big contribution, not just with his goal but with his forward play as well.In the end we needed Joey to fill in for James Tomkins who was feeling a hamstring and had he carried on may well have pulled it - and we don't want any injuries at this stage of the season, or any stage of the season. We're looking forward now to the FA Cup next week.It is important to get back to winning again as we hadn't won for four games in the Premier League. Now that we've won the game it gives us a great opportunity to focus on Bristol City and making sure we get through to the fifth round. It's very important to us that, as our position in the league in very secure.We don't have to consider resting players for Premier League games at the moment now we've come through the hardest period of all, which is Christmas and New Year and games every three or four days. We're steering clear of injuries pretty well which is giving us an opportunity to go forward in both the Premier League and the FA Cup.Well we weren't very good. When you've had such an exciting game on Tuesday night I think it was disappointing for the fans to come and see how poor we played in the first half. They didn't expect it and I think it caught them cold. I haven't seen us pass as poorly this season as we did in the first half, but I think that can only be the legacy of the effort they put in on Tuesday night to beat Everton.Second half, changing the shape was the big thing - and playing forward quicker. All this tippy-tappy stuff everybody keeps going on, and the right way to play football, is all a load of bollocks sometimes... [laughs]Getting the ball in the opposition's box as quickly as you can with quality and getting it forward and in behind the opposition is definitely the best way forward sometimes. That's what we did in the second half - and that's why we won the game.Because James Tomkins and James Collins were magnificent last Tuesday. Were you here?Well you should have been - then you wouldn't have asked that question! [laughs]No, he'd just recovered from injury and James Collins and James Tomkins were fantastic against Everton and like I said, if you had been here on Tuesday you wouldn't have asked that question.Not again. I've had four days of this [laughs] "last year when you played Hull..." Go on. You always wait 'til the end, don't you? You always sneak one in?Oh, we've had a fantastic season. When you talk about what the important things in life are, there's one thing that you will realise - and David Pleat will tell you this, I've just noticed him sitting there. Recruitment is everything, everything for you as a football manager.You recruit well, you become a great manager because you get better players and players do much better things for you. They take it on board quicker, you get better results and you become a better manager. Our recruitment this year had been really fantastic; to have so many players make such a difference in one summer's recruitment is the best I've had in my entire career.Thank you, lads.