MICHAEL Collins applauded City for coming up with the right reaction amid the “negativity and nonsense” currently surrounding the club.

Jack Payne’s clever first-half strike clinched a 1-0 win over Burton at Valley Parade to end a run of three successive defeats.

“I thought the players were superb,” said Collins. “It was about getting the three points.

“We weren’t spectacular and there are many areas we need to get better at. But we did what we needed to do.

“We kept a clean sheet and Jack ended up with a good finish that won us the game.

“It was the reaction that I wanted but I expect nothing less from these players. They are a great group to work with and they’re learning all the time about each other.”

Collins had spoken in the build-up to the game about how quickly fortunes can change in football. But the City head coach once again brushed off the criticism that he has been getting.

“People love negativity, certainly around this club at the moment.

“I come in and do my job to the best of my ability as do the staff and the players.

“We get on with what we need to do. All the negativity and nonsense that I hear about, there’s nothing you can do about it.

“We’re committed to this football club. We work long hours – slightly too long hours if you ask my missus.

“But it’s for the collective. I’m desperate to be successful for this club.

“I understand it was an out-there appointment but not for us. We understand the process.

“We’ve got a very supportive chairman, who gets a lot of unnecessary stick. He allows us to do our jobs and as long as we can do that, I have no issues.

“Let people write or say what they want. I don’t get carried away by wins or defeats, we come in every day and work hard for the club.”

Payne and man of the match Sean Scannell, who played on loan for Burton last season, both stood out after poor performances in the weekend loss at Southend.

Collins added: “I’m not one for picking out individuals but those two have such quality. Whenever you can get them into the final third, they are going to hurt teams.

“I’m a fan of one v one action and getting crosses into the box and we saw a lot of that with Sean.

“I also thought the fans were superb in the last 15 minutes. They literally dragged us over the line because we had a few spent bodies out there.

“It’s been a difficult week for various reasons but it’s nice to be able to just talk about football.”