Stuart Broad says he ignored criticism of his form and "built himself back up" after completing his first four-wicket haul in over a year on day two of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.
Broad went wicketless in the third Test in Perth as England slipped 3-0 down to relinquish the Ashes and he headed into the Boxing Day clash at the MCG averaging almost 62 in the series and with pundits, including former England captain Michael Vaughan, questioning his place in the side.
The 31-year-old responded with 4-51 in Melbourne as England dismissed Australia for 327 before Alastair Cook's unbeaten 104 lifted the tourists to 192-2 by stumps, a deficit of 135.
"I think you can get yourself in a bit of dark place if you read everything," said Broad. "I've had one of those weeks where you get your tin hat on, duck down and don't really see much.
"I've been unaware about things being written and said but you've got to be critical at times and I deserved criticism after Perth - I was poor.
"I am not going to hold any grudges or get too disappointed if people slag me off because in 15 years' time I might be doing the same. I've always had the appreciation that people are just doing their jobs.
"I've gone to the place that you have to go to as a sportsman where you find something within yourself, get support from people around you and build yourself back up again.
"You don't play this amount of international sport without some sort of deep inner self-confidence that you can find when you are very low. You have something there you can clutch on to when things get tough."
Cook's hundred, his first since hitting 243 against Windies at Edgbaston in August, ended a barren run of form for him in the Ashes, the opener averaging 13.83 before his 32nd Test ton.
"I think it shows a huge amount of character to be under that sort of scrutiny and pressure and come out and deliver any sort of performance, let alone a hundred," added Broad, who revealed the celebrations in the England dressing room were "huge" when Cook reached three figures.
"He went through so much stuff with his captaincy that I don't think a bit of stick about scoring runs is going to bother him too much.
"He was always going to come good at some stage - he has always had these periods in his career where he might not score the runs he wants but then he gets a really big score.
"He's someone who doesn't just deal in little hundreds, he just seems to go big, and as part of the bowling unit I would like him to do the same here.
"Both of us have put in two strong performances and we know we will need three more fantastic days to win the Test match.
"We are in a fantastic position - it's not going to be easy to go and take 20 wickets but we've put ourselves in a position where we could.
"We want that scoreboard pressure going into getting those next 10 wickets. We've still got a huge amount to play for."