Neil Lennon was left gutted last night as Hibs lost out on penalties to Brondby in the Europa League.
After losing a goal within 20 seconds in the first leg skipper David Gray netted last night to take the tie into extra-time and penalties.
John McGinn was the fall guy in the shoot out but as he looked back over both legs Lennon was delighted at how his new squad performed.
“I am proud of them and pleased with the boys because they did exactly what we set out to do which was to win the game,” the former Celtic boss told The Sun.
“Without poor officials in the first tie last week, we would have been through. Any luck in this tie went against us but I can’t speak highly enough of my team. They were outstanding.
“To come away from home and to lose by a shootout is hard to take. As a team, we need to start things from here.
“It’s a fantastic start to take Brondby all the way at such an early stage.
“We deserved to win and we should be heading to Hertha Berlin in the next round. It’s a good platform to begin with.
“I didn’t have many wins away from home with Celtic in Europe. I could see the players were running on fumes, but this will give them a lot of belief.
“They showed tremendous character and Paul Hanlon in both games was head and shoulders above the rest. He was outstanding.”