Dean Smith was delighted to see Aston Villa's defence "gel" in Monday night's 2-0 win over Newcastle United.
Two quick-fire goals from Anwar El-Ghazi and Conor Hourihane gave Villa a first-half lead which they never relinquished.
It was Villa's third clean sheet from 13 matches and the result lifts them up to 15th on the table.
Speaking after the game, Smith told Sky Sports: "This is a really tough league and we have just gone through a period of playing Manchester City and Liverpool, which were games I thought we actually played well in.
"The table is so tight but you need to put a run together, be tough to beat and keep a clean sheet. I'm really pleased with the clean sheet tonight as we haven't had too many of those this season.
"Our form has been good but we knew it would be hard, but I think we've been competitive. It takes time gel defensively but I think we achieved that against Newcastle."
