Jack O'Connor was full of praise for his hat-trick hero David Clifford as Kerry came from behind to beat Tyrone in the Allianz Football League at Pomeroy.
The men from the Kingdom trailed by seven points at one stage but they turned things around, helped by Clifford's goals, to secure their second win of the campaign.
The defeat leaves Tyrone with just two points from four games, and they're now very much in the relegation conversation.
Fossa man Clifford was surrounded by supporters of both counties after full-time after putting in another famous display.
"He hasn't a lot done. He played 20 minutes against Dublin and this was his first start. The man has quality and that's enduring.
"He had so much football played there for two or three years, he was bound to have a bit of a dip. We gave him a good rest this winter and he trained hard himself and did a lot of his own individual stuff.
"He has a good appetite and we need him today. We were missing the likes of Seán O'Shea and Tadhg Morley, Gavin White and a few other fellas.
"So we needed a big performance from David. But it wasn't just him. We were very strong out around the middle of the field. The boys out there caught some great ball. We won four of Tyrone's last five kick-outs."
The result moves Kerry closer to safety on four points but O'Connor says they will need another two points to be fully safe.
Next up is a meeting with Mayo in Castlebar, a game that usually produces fireworks.
"It didn't look good at a lot of stages," O'Connor added. "A lot of things went against us. The two black cards in the second half.
"It was a tough game to play, we were down two men at one stage but we hung in there and the lads showed great heart.
"We needed two points very badly. I wouldn't say we're home and hosed, you need at least six points to be safe. Another tough game next weekend in Castlebar. They had a great result last night, showed tremendous character and heart coming back against Armagh."
