Shelbourne manager John Russell has praised his team's near-perfect performance following their 5-2 demolition of Nomme Kalju in Tolka Park on Thursday evening. The Dubliners are currently 5th in the Premier Division with 34 points from 24 games, recent form WDLDW. Midfielder Sean Moore got on the scoresheet twice, with Rodrigo Freitas, Ali Coote and substitute Daniel Ring also finding the back of the net to move the team one step closer towards European football next season. For Russell, who only took charge of the club a mere ten days ago, he was delighted to see such a one-sided victory in the first leg clash. "Outstanding performance," he proclaimed when speaking to RTÉ Sport at full-time. "We spoke before the game about how special the European nights are. This club had some amazing ones last season and that was the task and the challenge to embrace tonight, especially after the back of our previous result. I thought we played some outstanding football, (with) real attacking intent, but also our press high up the pitch, turnovers. It was relentless. We scored five, we could have had more. Some really outstanding individual performances but as a team, look, I'm only in the door. There's lots to do, but really happy with what we saw tonight. Russell's Irish internationally capped sister, Julie-Anne, was in attendance in Tolka Park to witness a comprehensive victory. The newly-appointed manager admitted that this high-octane style was exactly what he wished for from his squad. "We were on the front foot and that's the way I want my teams to play," Russell explained. "The players that we have at our disposal at the moment, they're buying into everything we're doing. And for them to carry out the gameplan and get the rewards, it's good for confidence and feeds that belief now. Shels will now venture east to Estonia for the second leg next week with a sizable three-goal cushion, but despite conceding twice to keep Kalju in the tie, Russell remains focused on winning the leg to secure qualification for the next round. "We want to go and win the game. If we win the game next week, we're through," he told RTÉ Sport. "We're disappointed with both the goals we conceded, probably the second goal was good play from them. They come out from the side of the pitch and it probably comes out a bit too easy and it's a treaded ball through. But having said that, we left a few goals behind us tonight and we have to focus on our performance. We've won the game, that's always the aim. We've put a few goals in and the aim for next week is to go and win the game again. The result in front of a delighted home crowd serves as a reminder of what Shelbourne can achieve. Their season, however stodgy in the league, took another turn following defeat to Kerry in the cup last time out; but Russell is happy so far as he tries to settle in. "I'm not even in full two weeks yet but I'm really looking forward to the challenge ahead," he added. "This is a massive club with some top players here. We've got players that have come back from injury. There's lots of work to do and it's going to take time for me to implement what I want. But I'm very clear on where I want to go, and it's step by step. And tonight was a good step in the right direction.