A FANTASTIC result it may have been, but there will be no congratulatory pats on the back at Scunthorpe United while Alan Knill is in charge.

The Iron clawed their way off bottom spot in the Championship table, moving to within five points of safety after a thumping 4-1 victory over QPR.

But Knill was keen to drill it into his players that the real hard work still lies ahead if they are to pull off a miracle escape this season.

"I've said to the players, sometimes you say 'brilliant we've beaten the team at the top of the league' and pat ourselves on the back," said the United boss.

"There is no patting on the back. We're still in a really precarious position.

"But what it does is give everybody here some sort of belief and hope that you can turn that around.

"And that's the idea. If you go down, you don't go down without a fight.

"We are all delighted to win 4-1 at home.

"But I think it's really important we don't get carried away with ourselves. We're still in the bottom three. When you're out of the bottom three and safe, then you can say well done – this is just the start."

After his first full week in charge, Knill was delighted to see his players display some of the qualities he believes will be key to staying in the Championship.

United were forced to battle from a goal down after Rob Hulse opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes. But a Joe Garner brace, a stunning strike from Michael O'Connor and a first Iron goal for Mark Duffy ensured the new boss tasted victory in his inaugural match at Glanford Park.

"I can't single out any particular players, they all did really well," said Knill.

"But that's what it's going to take. It's not about individuals, it's about the team and a work ethic.

"That's pretty much what my teams play like.

"I thought we were particularly aggressive, which I like, in a fair way.

"In this league, probably more than any other league I've been involved in, I think you need that first.

"You have to be aggressive and compete otherwise there are some players in this league who can hurt you.

"We had to do that first and then allow (our talented players) the freedom to go and play. I thought we did that as well.

"I think the biggest thing for me was the performance.

"I would have taken a loss but I had to have a performance that was something like the Scunthorpe I knew, which is aggressive, making it difficult for people to play, and then, when you've got the ball, having players who can do something with it.

"I was delighted with the performance."