Gianfranco Zola hailed the passion of his West Ham United players after seeing them secure an impressive 1-1 draw with Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Alessandro Diamanti fired the Hammers into a half-time lead against Carlo Ancelotti's table-toppers from the penalty spot, only for Frank Lampard to net a controversial equaliser from the spot midway through the second half.
While there was no question about Ashley Cole's foul on Jack Collison for the hosts' spot-kick, Matthew Upson clearly won the ball when he challenged substitute Daniel Sturridge inside the Hammers penalty area.
Zola believes that, aside from the point gained from Sunday's fixture, the performance and attitude of his players will serve as a launchpad ahead of the busy Christmas and New Year period.
"Nobody could have said anything if we had got the three points, but that doesn't take anything away from the performance of the players. I'm happy because the atmosphere, the passion and the courage they put on the pitch was remarkable.
"I think it's a very good starting point and it will inspire everybody from now on.
"Even in the past we played some good games, but I never felt the atmosphere we had against Chelsea. The way the players were encouraging each other and working each off each other was really contagious.
"On the bench, everybody was involved in everything. There was a kind of positivity and it kept everybody very sharp.
"Scott Parker is a very influential player for us, but there were many others who were really good, starting from the defenders. The goalkeeper was very good and the amount of running that Jack Collison did was unbelievable. I was very pleased with the performance of everybody.
"I liked their passion on the pitch. They were tired but they didn't look it. I'm sure they could have played another 90 minutes."
Zola's only disappointment was in referee Mike Dean's decision to award Chelsea the perfect route back into the match 16 minutes after half-time. The official initially appeared to ignore the Blues' penalty claims, only to award the penalty on the advice of his assistant, who raised his flag to his chest to signal a foul by Upson.
After the drama of two re-takes, Lampard sent England team-mate Robert Green the wrong way from 12 yards.
"It was a harsh decision. I think the referee got it right in the first place, then the linesman put his flag up and the referee changed his mind. His first impression was the right one, but he didn't stay on his position, which was a pity.
"The players were disappointed, especially with the linesman. I don't think it was the referee's decision. Obviously it was, but the linesman put his flag up and that's why he gave the penalty. He wasn't going to give it, and it's a pity because he was positioned better than the linesman.
"We don't need to speak about it any more. It's gone and it's a pity, but nothing takes away from the performance of the players."
Sunday's result meant the Hammers go into their Boxing Day encounter with Portsmouth a point ahead of Pompey. Having held the division's top club to a draw, Zola wants his team to adopt the same approach when they take on the top-flight's bottom side on Saturday.
"We knew that the team we had in front of us was better than us, so we had to do something different. We had to give something more and that was the key factor. We just played with passion. We dragged the crowd on our side and it made a difference, really. It's such an important factor in football, this."