Karl Robinson praised his 'maverick' players after Charlton Athletic's 1-0 win against AFC Wimbledon, despite not performing to expectations.
The Addicks found their decisive moment through Ricky Holmes after the winger scored from a set-piece on the edge of the box to seal a narrow victory.
Wimbledon managed to suppress and frustrate Robinson's men for most of the game and had a guilt-edge chance themselves, but ultimately fell short at the end.
Although many thought the foul leading up to the goal was a penalty, Holmes' looping effort over goalkeeper George Long was enough.
Robinson said: "I would question any psychologist from Harley Street, or any great place in the world, to work out what Ricky [Holmes] is going to do. Because only he knows.
"He’s a maverick, he’s out there. But we love him because he does those types of things that make him so great.
"But they are all the same, I’m really proud of the players again today and this is another win, just another one ticked off. There is a possibility that we don’t play in this league for another three weeks, and in that time nobody can overtake us below us [because] we are four points clear of the team below [Scunthorpe United].
"When you start looking at this you’re thinking, ‘Hang on, we could have two games in hand and be sat in fourth’.
"I thought we were very average today. I thought Ricky [Holmes], Tariqe [Fosu], Clarkey and Josh [Magennis], Jake [Forster-Caskey], these players probably were not at their best.
"But these players are mavericks and they produce moments of magic like they did today. That was it, that was the difference.
"We didn’t cause them many problems, but we won."
AFC Wimbledon entered the game one spot off the relegation zone and wanting to put behind their defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle on October 11.
Deji Oshilaja received the ball in the 18-yard box and beat his defender, only to blast the ball over the bar in what was arguably the Dons' best chance of the game.
However, Robinson admired opposition manager Neal Ardley's tactical approach.
He added: "They play with two sitters and they protect the back four very well. I said to Neal Ardley that he is a fantastic manager, he really is, and his staff and everybody from the personal side.
"I don’t think they had a gameplan to come and hurt us, I thought we looked equally as strong but we didn’t really do much with the ball today and that’s maybe a bit of credit to them [Wimbledon]."
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