Sean Dyche hailed a big performance from his Burnley team after a narrow 1-0 victory against Stoke City at Turf Moor on Tuesday eased the club's relegation fears.
Burnley's 10th home win of the season saw them move up to 12th in the table and eight points clear of the drop zone thanks to George Boyd's first goal since December.
And Dyche felt it was key for his side to record a first league win in eight to release the pressure after a testing series of fixtures.
"It was a very important win, not just because of the remaining games but we have been on a really tough run," Dyche said.
"Five out of our seven games have been away and the two at home against the top two. We knew it was a tough run and to come out with a deserved win is pleasing.
"We have played big games at Turf Moor, the players are adapting. They know there are big games and have produced a performance when it counts.
"We have got to stay focused. We are in good shape with a record number of points and still seven games to go."
Winning April 4, 2017
Meanwhile, Mark Hughes bemoaned his side's inability to break the deadlock after edging a tight first half with few chances, Stoke slipping to a third straight Premier League defeat.
"I thought we played well in terms of withstanding what Burnley do and defensively we were rock solid," Hughes told reporters. "In terms of our play we had a game plan and looked to take their press out of it and it worked really well.
"[I thought] it was just a matter time for us to score. We had a couple of real opportunities when we were clean through and that is the disappointing thing for us.
FT: Despite looking the brighter side, the Potters fall to an undeserved defeat at Burnley 1-0 April 4, 2017
"We were the side in the ascendency but they were able to go up and put the ball into the box and it was a good strike but I don't recall them having too many others.
"It is disappointing. On the night I thought we were the better team."
