Speaking after Charlton's 2-1 win over Barnsley at The Valley on Saturday afternoon, Lee Bowyer was proud of his side's battling performance as the Addicks held on for a vital three points.
However, despite his pride and the performance, Bowyer was still quick to highlight that the squad is not 100 per cent match fit.
"I’ve just said to the players there, it should have been a bit more comfortable at times and a bit more pretty," he explained.
"You can tell that some of the players who have just come back are a bit rusty. We didn’t pass it how we normally would. But the most important thing at this stage of the season is the three points. It doesn’t matter how you get it. You have to dig in sometimes and grind out results and that’s what we’ve just done.
"We were coasting first-half and then they changed to match us up again and that happens a lot to us! Then Barnsley came into the game through a bit of sloppiness from ourselves. The most important thing is three points and now we can move on."
When asked about the difficulty of the league and how other teams around Charlton in the table are starting to find some form Bowyer explained that's part and parcel of the Championship.
"This is what this league does," he said.
"You’ve just got to keep going and going and fighting and who knows where it will take you, but I don’t care about other teams, I just care about my team. I know that with the players that have come back fit and the players that we have brought in will keep us in good stead you know.
"The fans were unreal again tonight. They never stop singing. They see that the players were tired and they got behind them again… They just kept singing and singing and we got over the line. I’m really pleased with the way that things went today."
Charlton first took the lead through Lyle Taylor and after a transfer window of speculation, Bowyer explained that there was a reason the striker was a target for a number of clubs.
"Performances like that are why I spoke to the chairman and said that we need to keep a hold of Lyle. He got stuck in there, he started to cramp up a little at the end. But that’s what he brings us.
But praise was not limited to the forward as Bowyer paid tribute to the effort of the squad as a whole.
"I thought the two up top were good. Andre [Green] had some bad news earlier this week so he missed training on Tuesday so to turn out that performance... I thought the two front men were outstanding.
"Jason Pearce was good - a leader. I thought Darren Pratley covered everything and Josh Cullen covered everything. Dillon Phillips made an unbelievable save in the first half, an unreal save. That’s what you have to do sometimes. You have to push yourselves into areas that your body doesn't like going to. That’s what my lads do. I’m proud of them."