Chris Burke celebrates his goal with team-mate Jay Bothroyd
Goal-scorer Chris Burke says Cardiff are ready to be more street-wise after the 1-0 win at Preston ended a three-game losing streak for the Bluebirds.
"In the Championship they are not going to be pretty games all the time," he said. "How you get out of this division is winning ugly games and we did that.
"The flak was flying after the Ipswich defeat and we deserved it. Any of us could have been dropped after that.
"Our job was to put it right and we did - now it's West Brom on Tuesday."
Joe Ledley (groin) and Michael Chopra (sickness) are doubts for the Hawthorns clash, while Jay Bothroyd is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season in the Preston win.
Cardiff manager Dave Jones backed up Burke's comments on the added determination in his side on Saturday.
Cardiff did 'dirty work' - Jones
"We did the dirty parts that we didn't do in the second half against Ipswich," said Jones, whose side went through November without a win.
"The lads who came in have been chomping at the bit because of the results in the last few weeks. They haven't let anyone down so well done.
"Mark Hudson was magnificent at the back, he marshalled things really well and got his head to everything, but everyone played a part."
Former Rangers winger Burke says he is ready for the challenging fixture list ahead, with West Brom followed by Middlesbrough on Sunday.
"There are massive games this week, but they all are in this league," he told BBC Sport Wales.
"We are playing against two teams who are looking for automatic promotion, but we are a good team as well.
"After a couple of defeats we were delighted to get the three points against Preston, who are also looking for promotion."
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