Everton boss David Moyes believes beating Metalist Kharkiv away in the Uefa Cup this season saved him from the sack.
The Toffees beat the Ukraine outfit 3-2 on 4th October to progress into the group stages of the Uefa Cup 4-3 on aggregate.
"We went from a first half in which we looked like going out of the Uefa Cup to a position now where we fear nobody, no matter who we are taking on.
"That was a big game for me. If I wanted to take Everton into Europe I needed to show that I could do it.
"If it hadn't happened that night, who knows what would have happened? If we hadn't gone through there might have been others who felt, 'Well, he's had a couple of goes now and it didn't work. Maybe he can't do it'."
Moyes believes pitting his hand against the Metalist boss and Ukraine national coach, Miron Markevich, was a great learning experience for him and has given belief to his team, who have lost just once in the last 14 games.
He added: "As a manager you have to find a way of winning by hook or by crook. We made so many different tactical changes to try and get a grasp of the game. Every time I played a card, Metalist played another and I thought they topped me on the night.
"For me it was a great learning experience. Everything I did, they did something different to better it. Then I had to change again and he did it again. They made a move that nearly beat my card trick in the end.
"There was so much at stake that night and, when I think back, that was a really good job done because at half-time we were saying, 'How are we going to get through this game?' I think it is a pivotal win for this club.
"It has given us great belief and having regular games has been more of a help than a hindrance."
