Micky Adams praised lots of people for Albion's first win at Torquay since 1965.

He thanked TV pundit Alan Hansen for inadvertently aiding his team talk.

He praised Bobby Zamora for his goal and Darren Freeman for his cross.

He also had some congratulatory words for late stand-in Steve Melton, recalled goalkeeper Mark Cartwright and centre-halves Matthew Wicks and Andy Crosby.

But Adams deserves a big pat on the back himself at the end of a "shocking week" in which his private life was plastered across two pages of a national newspaper.

He has bounced back and so too has his team.

A week earlier, a few miles down the road at Torquay's fellow strugglers Exeter, they crashed to a dismal 1-0 defeat.

Adams' mailbag grew as irate supporters vented their anger.

He changed the team and it worked. Albion were brighter going forward than they have been away from home of late as they answered the doubters with a hard-fought victory.

Adams said: "We've had to endure a fair bit of criticism, some of it slightly over the top from certain quarters.

"My letters have increased and some fans have been very critical.

"The boys were rightly embarrassed by their performance at Exeter. They are a good, solid bunch of professionals and knew what they had to do.

"I heard Alan Hansen say anybody will forgive anything provided you give everything.

"I used that. I told them to put their bodies on the line, to stand up and be counted.

"They were magnificent from start to finish, especially when we had to change the team 20 minutes before kick-off."

There was a cruel irony about that. Adams had taken the unusual step of announcing the team to the Argus last Monday.

Suddenly all of his planning was disrupted when Richard Carpenter aggravated a troublesome ankle in the warm-up.

It left Adams not only without an influential midfielder but with only four fit substitutes after travelling to the West Country with just 16 players.

The omens were not good, but Albion demonstrated a desire conspicuous by its absence at Exeter.

That was just as well, because Torquay were fiercely committed.

Their robust approach to a deepening relegation crisis earned them half-a-dozen bookings from referee Mark Warren, much to the displeasure of the home fans.

One of the three changes made by choice by Adams was the return of Freeman to the starting line-up for the first time since August 28.

That decision was vindicated when the industrious winger delivered a superb cross from the right flank with 15 minutes left for the unmarked Zamora to head home the winner.

Zamora was outstanding. His hold-up play and approach work was particularly impressive.

The only blemish was a silly booking in the first half. Zamora fired the ball over the bar when Warren had already blown for offside.

Cartwright made three important saves. He tipped over John Gayle's long range effort, foiled Eifion Williams within seconds of the restart and stopped Gary Neil's fierce shot in the closing stages.

He could do nothing about a Tony Bedeau cross which hit the bar.

But his kicking left a lot to be desired, a bitter twist for Michel Kuipers watching from the bench. The big Dutchman was dropped for that very reason.

Melton was encouragingly effective, supporting the front men at every opportunity, while Wicks and Crosby stood up well to the physical presence of the 36-year-old Gayle.

All in all it was a timely tonic ahead of tomorrow night's trip to fifth-placed Rochdale and Saturday's Withdean showdown against Alan Cork's third-placed Cardiff.

As Adams said: "This sets us up nicely. The challenge was there.

"The players knew they could go back up to second and they wanted it badly."