Jim McNulty said the squad showed bravery and commitment to take all three points on Saturday.
Dale were 4-2 winners over Walsall at the Crown Oil Arena, making it back-to-back wins since McNulty became Interim Manager.
It has moved Dale to six points from 22nd placed Crawley Town, having been 11 points behind just a week ago.
McNulty praised the commitment and says he is proud of the players.
“It was a really exciting game,” he commented.
“There was loads of good football from our team that I’m really pleased with. There were some disappointments to ride out along the way, obviously going 1-0 down is really tough in our situation.
“But it was really pleasing for us to come back with some of the football that we played.
“Playing against a difficult side who have some heavy hitters amongst them, most notably the two strikers that helped Forest Green Rovers get promoted last year.
“We always knew the game would provide its difficulties, but I always knew, personally, that we could have real moments in the game where we could show our quality, and we did that.
“We showed real bravery and commitment to the game plan, the process, the things we’ve practiced.
“To not be affected by the first punch in the game is really important. We knew Walsall can be very dangerous from long throws and it was from that we were a goal down. But we were really brave and coming back like that is one of the markers you look for.
“I’m pleased and proud of them. The praise goes to them because they deserve it.
“The way they ran for each other today, the commitment without the ball, and then the commitment to do what we want to do with the ball, I realise how hard it is to do that in a situation like the one we’re in.
“It’s really pleasing and rewarding to see some of the things we’ve worked on come to fruition.”
Watch the full interview with McNulty on our official YouTube channel.