John Mousinho was relieved to see his Portsmouth side see out a “nervy” 1-0 win at home to Sky Bet League One bottom club Forest Green.
Owen Dale’s second goal of the season was enough to keep Pompey’s faint play-off hopes alive.
Head coach Mousinho said: “It feels like a job done today. I thought that in the last 40 minutes we were a bit nervy.
“Without conceding any real opportunities for Forest Green, we took our foot off the accelerator and couldn’t push on for a second and third goal.
“I was pleased with the performance up to the moment we scored. We took on board everything discussed before the game.
“These are tough games to win. They’ve come to frustrate us the way they’ve set up. I think they’re a good side with ability and not worthy of their league position.”
In a first half which saw more bookings than attempts on goal, it was difficult to see where one would come from.
Pompey were finding it hard to break down the back five of a team currently 11 points from safety.
A Colby Bishop header over the bar from a Tom Lowery cross after 10 minutes and a Michael Jacobs cross shot pushed behind for a corner were all that Pompey could muster while the visitors failed to produce a single effort.
Pompey managed to get that longed-for goal in the 51st minute as Joe Rafferty’s cross deep from the right to the far post saw Dale head past Ross Doohan.
Dale could have doubled the tally in the 71st minute, but he somehow managed to fire wide of an open goal.
The defeat sent Forest Green crashing back to earth after their surprise win over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
Manager Duncan Ferguson said: “I was very pleased with the first-half performance, going in at 0-0.
“The game opened up more in the second half, but there were very few opportunities on both sides.
“I made changes because I wanted power and pace on the right-hand side, and we had good spells of domination in possession.
“We started to get confident.
“We’re just focusing on one match at a time. Next season is a long way off. There are no easy games left. They’re all tough from where I am sitting.
“We have Derby next up, and will now focus on that from the moment we get on the coach home.
“Our fans clapped us off today. They know we are making the effort.
“We beat Sheffield Wednesday last week, and nearly got a draw here. We will do our very best for them until the end of the season.”
