David Flitcroft identified his centre-half pairing as the key factor in a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace which kept Barnsley outside the drop zone.
A forgettable game was overshadowed by a pre-match row over Barnsley's kits, which were both rejected by the referee - forcing the visitors to play in Palace's away strip.
In the end both sides finished with a point, and Flitcroft's side remain out of the relegation places by the same margin.
He said: "I think the experience of Stephen Foster and Bobby Hassell marshalled Glenn Murray really well which you have to do, he is the best striker in the league.
"Having two experienced heads in there helped us and it is important down the centre of pitch that you have leaders."
On the kit fiasco he said: "There was a bit of a stand-off before the game as I didn't want my players to not have the Barnsley badge, something they play for every day.
"But you realise the sense is probably to listen to the referee and I think it was the right decision.
"He asked us if we could wear our warm-up tops which I didn't think was appropriate so we decided to go with Palace's kit.
"The club has done everything it could before the game to make sure we had this situation right. We spoke to referees in the week and made sure they were happy with the kit and then we got here at 1.30pm and it was all change."
