Sheffield Wednesday caretaker boss Neil Thompson praised his side's character after they beat the Championship's bottom club Wycombe 2-0 at Hillsborough to move out of the relegation zone.
Jordan Rhodes headed Wednesday in front in the 34th minute following a pinpoint Kadeem Harris cross.
Veteran Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa then saw his header comfortably saved by Keiren Westwood before Barry Bannan forced visiting keeper Ryan Allsop to make a stop on the hour-mark.
Adam Reach put the game to bed with a second for Wednesday in the 76th minute.
An initial shot from Harris was blocked by the Wycombe defence but, with the help of a substantial deflection, Reach powerfully struck past a helpless Allsop to make the points safe.
After watching his side climb to 21st in the table, Thompson said: "It's still tight at the bottom. We know we've got to win football matches.
"We've won six from our last nine and we're going to try and keep doing that.
"In the first half we did well tonight. We got the ball out wide and got the ball in the box. The second half was a bit of a scrap, but the boys remained very professional.
"If you keep putting balls in the box then you're going to get opportunities. We knocked on the door and Jordan (Rhodes) scored.
"Everyone wore their hearts on their sleeves today. We showed great character against a team at the bottom fighting for their lives.
"It's not a given you're going to win the game. You have to work hard and do the right thing.
"We know we haven't won as many away from home. We've turned results around at home and we'll treat every game on its merits."
Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth said: "Mistakes always cost you and we made a couple of errors, for the second goal especially, and we'll be putting that right behind closed doors.
"The boys gave me everything again. We sorted the way we wanted to defend against them at half-time and we were much better in the second half.
"One goal and you're always in it. The second one was a killer. It allowed Sheffield Wednesday to slow the game down and do what they wanted. We were chasing the game from that moment.
"I'm proud of the boys. They're a good bunch and it could only be a good thing, the young boys getting minutes in the Championship.
"I don't know why we didn't get a penalty in the first half. Only (referee) Gavin Ward knows that. I'm not going to ask him because I'll get in trouble.
"We go game by game. I want to enjoy our time in the Championship, be aggressive and go for it. I want to attack teams.
"There are a lot of positives from today, but we got beat and I don't like getting used to it."
