"It was a difficult game and we didn't play much football, we have taken a few knocks as well with Les going off, and I thought I would have to go off," he reveals.
"I am having a scan to see how my knee is from a tackle in the first minute and we will see what that brings, but we got the points and the job is only half done.
"I felt I was going to have to go off three or four times in the game but I just wanted to carry on.
"After Les went off I really thought 'I have just got to stay on now'.
"It was going through my mind about going off for the team and that someone 100% fit would do a better job.
"But as soon as Les went off I knew I had to grit my teeth and go through with it, which is what I did - and luckily we got the win.
"We put in a good battling performance away from home and now whoever is picked against Chelsea is going to do the business."
As for his thoughts on Glenn Roeder, slowly improving in hospital following his collapse a week ago, Joe says: "I have purposely not spoken to anybody about Glenn because I feel any message of 'get well' from me I would prefer to come privately, when I see him.
"That is all I have got to say, really, and it goes without saying that all our thoughts are with him.
"But there are games to be won, and the best thing we can do for Glenn is win games like yesterday."
As for Glenn's temporary successor, he says: "Trevor has come in and he has just kept the ball rolling from Glenn. In the last eight games we had only lost one so we just have to crack on now.
"Hopefully, if we win on Saturday, we could be out of the bottom three.
"Trevor is a legend. It is Bobby Moore and then Trevor Brooking with West Ham, so there is a lot of respect from the fans as well as the players.
"We just want to do a job for Trevor and hopefully Glenn will get better and come back to a team that is in the Premiership.
"At the moment we are still in there."