Oxford United boss Gary Rowett said his side "stepped up" on Saturday when they beat Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.
The U's scored late on through Sam Long's header to put themselves six points clear of the league's bottom three.
"There was lots of the performance I liked, we only had to hang on a little bit at the end," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.
"The game was reflective of our season, we seem to get a big win, then let ourselves down a bit, and then step up and show a bit of character.
"I thought we grew into the game in the second half and that platform allowed us to get the goal. It didn't feel comfortable on the sidelines but we managed to get there.
"We had a little bit of fortune that they didn't take one or two moments they had, and we rode that part of the game and came back into it, which I was really pleased about
"This team is full of character and we just have to make the best of the tools we have, the players gave everything.
"Today we stepped up and it is a huge, huge three points."
The U's remaining four fixtures include home games against promotion-chasers Leeds United and Sunderland, and away matches against Cardiff City and Swansea City.
