The Oxford United boss was set to lose his job if they had been beaten at the Kassam Stadium.
Patterson was put under pressure – particularly after their 2-1 away loss to Lewes the previous Saturday.
So he was a relieved man talking to the pres
s before Garry Hill delivered his verdict on Diamonds' display.
Patterson admitted: "It was much improved after last week.
"The players did what was asked of them and I'm very pleased.
"They have been desperate to do that since 4.45pm last Saturday when we were wholeheartedly despondent.
"If you analyse it, we were a little bit leggy in our performance after every Tuesday and Saturday.
"But this was much better. It was a tough week when we have also changed our chairman.
"I've lost two players when I didn't want to. Yet we have stuck together.
"I've also taken a lot of personal criticism which comes with the job and I'm ready for that.
"We are all big enough to take pats on the back so we have to take the other side of things as well.
"The team showed character and we had fantastic support. We've shown the quality to keep playing like that.
"We didn't play like a team who are down there. We always create chances and I thought we played some terrific stuff."
Hill, meanwhile, was unhappy over his side's performance – although he had no complaints about the result.
The Diamonds boss said: "You have got to work hard or you will get punished.
"The referee didn't help us with Gareth Jelleyman's sending-off. But they deserved to win the game over 90 minutes."
Jelleyman – who returned to the side as one of four changes – will serve a one-match suspension for tomorrow's home game against Grays Athletic.
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