Burton boss Martin Paterson felt his half-time team talk paid off in the 2-1 win at Leyton Orient.
The Brewers had trailed to a George Moncur penalty before the break, but Mason Bennett and Aristote Nsiala made Orient pay for two defensive mistakes to secure all three points in their first visit to Brisbane Road.
It was the second successive win on the road for the visitors, who moved six points clear of the League One relegation zone.
“I spoke to the players at half-time and I think that was the difference because they (Orient) led at half-time but didn’t have a clear-cut chance and only scored from the penalty which was a poor piece of defending,” Paterson said.
“We knew Orient are a really good team that are possession based so we set up a certain way. However within that, I was disappointed we didn’t see the triggers at certain times so sometimes players need education, help and encouragement.
“I’ll be positive about Orient because they have a clear identity but I knew if we could stay in the game and tweak things tactically with our substitutions, we could get something.
“They shaded it first half but second we definitely did, so I’m delighted with the result.
“My job is to keep encouraging, build the confidence. The non negotiables in terms of effort are there for all to see. It’s a group that wins the games not individuals.”
Orient boss Richie Wellens felt his side dropped their levels after the break.
He said: “I think they’ve had three shots on target and they’ve scored from two of them. In the last two home games the opposition have scored five goals and we’ve only faced six shots after we’ve dominated possession.
“I think the performance first half was excellent and we could have been two or three-nil up. Maybe we could have moved the ball quicker, but we were playing against a team who came here to defend and sit back.
“We were passing along the back and we wasn’t clever enough and went safe and played to the full-back and we can’t play like that.
“Fair play to Burton as they stayed in the game and got a smash and grab. We haven’t got the squad to push. We still have a small opportunity but this 10 per cent drop off is huge for us.”
“Second half right from the kick-off we went backwards to our goalkeeper who slips and had to do a Cryuff turn to get out of trouble. It was far too slow. Then we went long ball time and time again and we didn’t squeeze.”