Blackburn Rovers did a typical Blackburn Rovers, as only they seemingly know how.
With morale on the floor after a damaging defeat at Oxford United, they only went and won at The Den, didn't they? Of course they did.
Saturday's win was priceless and very important. At one stage, Rovers were set to spend their free week in the bottom three. Instead, they're four points clear of the relegation zone.
Results largely went for them too. Charlton Athletic's late equaliser at Oxford United was handy. Leicester City were their own worst enemies against a Queens Park Rangers side who had lost four in a row. And two years later, Sam Szmodics is still doing his best to keep Rovers in the division as his winner secured three points for Derby County at Portsmouth.
More importantly, the three points will make everyone feel lighter in the North-West sun, making a rare appearance as Winter turns to Spring (officially March 20 this year).
I was quite quick to highlight Rovers' poor record against those around them after the defeat at the Kassam Stadium, rightfully so. But it is also correct to point out that they have taken six points from Millwall, won at Hull City and avoided defeat at Middlesbrough, Wrexham and at home to Ipswich Town.
Whether it's tactically or psychologically, there's something in the make-up of this squad that likes the tougher task. Ultimately, it worked for them two years ago with wins at Elland Road and the King Power Stadium, but it doesn't half put the fans through the wringer.
After a little more than a month in charge and seven games in the dugout, Michael O'Neill has 10 points to his name. For context, that points-per-game average of 1.43 would equate to roughly 65 points across the season. They only managed the same number of points from Valerien Ismael's final 13 league matches as head coach.
More than that, O'Neill does pass the eyes and ears test. I was critical of his substitutions last week, in terms of the conservative nature against Portsmouth and lack of against Oxford United, considering how poor their first half was. But there is no doubt he is more than capable of leading this group forward, if everyone desires.
He is a calm head. Whilst sometimes you want to see ranting and raving, and I certainly felt he could, maybe should, have after Oxford, instead he was more measured in the way he delivered his criticism. He doesn't take fools but can see the bigger picture and not publicly slamming the players was maybe the right way to go. He got a response.
If you consider the injuries he's had to manage too, I think a lot more managers would be getting far less from this group. Their heartbeat has been ripped out of central midfield. Their most natural goal-scorer taken from the frontline and a warrior you'd want in the trenches stricken down too.
Then you're managing the minutes of those who are still performing, in the hope they don't break down. Yes, that's Hayden Carter, Adam Forshaw, particular. Without them, the house of cards does feel as though it could fall down.
Some players have improved under his tenure too. Ryoya Morishita is a prime example. He always showed flashes under Ismael but this has been his most productive run in a Rovers shirt. He has basically won them two of their three games, at QPR and at Millwall, with his assists.
Another 1.43PPG across their run-in would put Rovers on 53/54 points, depending on whether you round kindly. The higher figure would match Peterborough United's record of points a team has been relegated on. 53 was enough for survival two years ago and will likely be again.
Looking at their run-in, they've got a decent mix. It's the games they seem to do better in, such as Middlesbrough, Southampton, Coventry City. Those around them, West Brom and Leicester, plus a few sides that might be heading to the beach. Birmingham, Sheffield United, Stoke City.
There is not much disparity in the difficulty of fixtures remaining for any of the teams at the bottom, aside from Leicester City. Using Soccerstats' handy guide, which measures the PPG of those played vs those remaining, weighted by home and away, they have a 15% decrease in difficulty. Rovers' is plus 7% with others ranging between the two, but closer to Blackburn's figure.
Ultimately, what other teams do only matters if Rovers don't do their job. They have put themselves in a position where failing to finish the job would have to be deemed as a failure by O'Neill, though the responsibility would certainly not be carried by him.
By April 6, I think we'll have a very good idea what next season might look like. In terms of O'Neill's future, the division Rovers are competing in and the immediate outlook of this club.
The only thing for certain is they won't do it the easy way.
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