Neil Warnock hailed his Cardiff City players and felt their victory over Bournemouth on Saturday was a fitting tribute to missing striker Emiliano Sala.
In their first home game since record-signing Sala’s plane disappeared over the English Channel, two goals from Bobby Reid earned the Bluebirds a 2-0 win and the players celebrated the opening goal by holding aloft a T-shirt bearing an image of the striker.
There were tributes to Sala before and during the match, with both teams observing a minute’s silence.
“I’m really proud and I’m sure he (Sala) would have been,” Warnock said.
“Knowing the lad, Emiliano, as I did, I knew he would be with us today.
“I said to the lads ‘We have got to perform’. I thought the whole club was amazing.
“I was really pleased for the chairman, Mehmet (Dalman), and for (chief executive) Ken Choo.
“I was the proudest man to be manager of the whole football club today. The fans were just amazing.”
A tearful Warnock was visibly moved at full-time as he saluted the fans on an emotional night in the Cardiff City Stadium.
“I just felt today really immense pride,” Warnock added.
“We had to show everybody our support for him (Sala). We’ve done him proud, I thought.
“I was very emotional. I was all right until the final whistle went and I went on the pitch.
“The last 10 days or whatever it is, I can’t begin to explain to you how difficult it has been.
“Every fan stayed and the noise volume was amazing. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it and I will remember it for the rest of my life really.”
An underwater search to find Sala and pilot Dave Ibbotson begins on Sunday.