Shaun Barker described Saturday's derby day 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest as a 'defender's dream result'.
Barker, who claimed the Man of the Match award after another rock-solid display at the heart of the Rams defence, admitted there was no doubt at all Derby deserved the three points and local bragging rights.
He told dcfc.co.uk: "I don't think there was a better occasion for us to get the win and end Forest's run.
"A 1-0 win is a defender's dream and we're all delighted.
"We deserved it as well; they have some quality strikers that can nick a goal from anywhere so we had to be solid throughout.
"We stopped them playing, which was our target, and that goes down to the tremendous workrate from everyone.
"This win is a massive confidence boost for us, but we must use it to our advantage now.
"It shows the character we have here in the squad and when the tough times come we are prepared to fight.
"It is also three points which pushes us further away from the relegation zone and hopefully this can kick-start us into a very good second half of the season."
