BY hook or by crook, Neil Lennon seems to have got Wanderers playing something like their old selves again.

Many, myself included, wondered if the manager had done the right thing by giving his fragile side such a public dressing down after the defeat against Nottingham Forest.

His predecessor – ironically in the opposition dugout that day – found out to his cost that speaking your mind is not always the best course of action.

But on this occasion it definitely did the trick. And while the Whites did not quite have enough punch at Middlesbrough to get a point, the defensive improvement they showed at the Riverside carried through into a nervy and nail-biting win against Brighton.

Regardless of the squad, the manager or the division Wanderers were playing in at the time, the topic of mentality has been discussed more than anything else in the last four or five years.

Gary Megson, Owen Coyle, Dougie Freedman – all questioned the state of mind their players were in when times got tough. And for the first time last week, Neil Lennon also pondered whether his first major poor run of form was down to something deeper.

Yet there have been few occasions, particularly in the Championship era, when players have shown such a willingness to bite back at criticism. That can only be a good sign.

It has been my unfortunate task to reflect on some really low points – be it the spineless display against Chelsea in the aftermath of Nat Lofthouse’s passing, ‘that’ FA Cup semi-final and relegation from the Premier League against Stoke City, the near-miss on the play-offs, the Madesjski massacre, the record-breaking poor starts to the last two campaigns.

Not that I take them personally.

It has also been my duty to dish out or report the criticism where necessary – but I cannot recall a time when the reaction has been so pronounced, as it was on Saturday afternoon.

Several Wanderers played like they had a point to prove and long may that continue.

Captain Matt Mills looked back to his best, having come under heavy fire for his red card at the City Ground.

Not to break the fourth wall here – but other players have had their form and future questioned by me in the past and ended up sulking; not so the case here.

Alongside him David Wheater has put together two of his best displays in a Wanderers shirt. Always an immensely likeable player – he now looks to be knuckling down to find the kind of form which made him a Premier League regular.

Young Josh Vela had been visibly struggling for form of late, not least at Forest. He had a shaky first half against Brighton too but once he was pushed further forward in the second half, he dominated the pitch in a way we haven’t seen since Anfield.

That kind of mental strength suggests the Salfordian is the real deal.

We even got an outstanding, if rather surprising, second-half cameo from a player whose Wanderers career prospects looked rather thin at the start of the week.

While Lennon played down any rift with Kevin McNaughton after saying he was not in shape for first-team football, his words reported in this very newspaper have had an effect.

The Scot’s appearance on the bench was a talking point enough but he emerged in the second half to replace the injured Liam Feeney, even Lennon admitted he had a “new lease of life.”

There has even been a change inside the stadium, where Wanderers fans have grown to be more tolerant.

Patience was a virtue during a dreadful first half, the only talking point of which was a wonderful save from Ben Amos as Sam Baldock looked to volley home at the far post.

Emile Heskey was booked on the stroke of half time for stumbling into Lewis Dunk, an act which ended up looking more at home in the Six Nations than the Championship, but by no means intentional.

Thankfully, things livened up after the interval. Brighton had their best spell as Amos denied Baldock again from close range and Mills made a terrific block from Mackail-Smith’s follow up.

Then, almost out of nowhere, Zach Clough popped up with a moment of pure quality.

Vela, who after McNaughton’s introduction had been pushed into midfield, picked out a difficult pass, Clough spun past Dunk in an instant and then casually tapped a shot into David Stockdale’s bottom right hand corner.

The goal was almost balletic and a great reminder of what two young talents Wanderers have on their hands.

Brighton struggled to muster a response and, in truth, the Whites could have helped themselves to more goals before the end.

Clough sent one shot over the bar and after hitting the visitors on the break towards the end, the luckless but hard-working Adam Le Fondre should have been played in on a couple of occasions.

McNaughton, Wheater, Mills and Co performed admirably at the back during five minutes of added time in which Brighton threw everything forward but on-loan Manchester United keeper Amos did not have any more serious saves to make.

Wanderers still have a little work to do before calling themselves completely safe from relegation but the mental test now will be whether these players can finish strongly with little to play for.

Lennon is making up his own mind about recruitment in the summer and if the last seven days have been a kick up the backside for some, then so be it.

To quote the legendary commentator Dave Higson, who passed away nearly 10 years ago to the day, it wasn’t much of a “ding, dong, do” – but this win might just have put things right again at the Macron.