Mark Robins hopes Stoke’s 1-0 victory at Cardiff will galvanise his team in the final stretch of the season.
The Potters moved five points clear of the relegation zone and are now 18th in the Championship, picking up maximum points in a key relegation battle thanks to an 85th-minute own goal from Cardiff defender Will Fish.
“It was a difficult game for many reasons,” said Robins. “We both found ourselves in a precarious position and it is difficult after a three-game week.
“That made it the type of game it was – a lot of sloppy play and a lot of things you normally wouldn’t expect from either team.
“People were losing their footing, passes were going astray and players making decisions they don’t normally make.
“But we ended up with a clean sheet, a goal and three points and that is essentially what it was about. We’ve got to take it and really enjoy it – this is an experience we have come through and we will learn from it and use it to galvanise us.
“The fans were brilliant and that helps, and it is a big step forward. We will now have a couple of days’ breather before working into the Sheffield Wednesday game on Friday.
“We put our bodies on the line and to a man we did what we needed to do. We didn’t get everything right, but we were OK and we managed to come out on top.
“We still have a lot of football to play. This was a three-point game for us and we have four games to go, none of them easy, but everyone is in a similar boat.”
Cardiff now have four games in which to find enough points to stop themselves from dropping into the third tier for the first time since 2003.
Manager Omer Riza still believes his side can beat the drop, but acknowledges they have to start winning games.
They head to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday, host Oxford on Monday and then finish off with a home game against West Brom and a trip to Norwich on the final day of the season.
“I’m disappointed for the fans and the club that we weren’t able to get what we needed from the game. We didn’t create any clear-cut moments,” said Riza.
“For me there was a clear hand ball in the build-up to their goal, but we simply didn’t do well enough in dealing with the long throw-in.
“We have four games to go and they are all massive – just like the last eight or nine have been. We have a mountain to climb.
“We lost the game to a basic moment which we should have managed better, but we still have 12 points to play for. You have to win games to get promoted and to beat relegation and if we don’t start winning then the writing is on the wall.”
