There is a strong feeling among supporters and some sections of the media that the group will come down to a straight fight between United and Yatai, with the two teams due to meet in China on May 21, the final group game.

That appears to be the most likely scenario with even a draw on Chinese soil expected to be enough to see an Australian side through to the quarter-finals for the first time.

But Dodd is refusing to contemplate a ‘probably’ scenario at this stage.

All that interests him is making sure minds are fully focused on the job in hand, namely collecting another precious three points against the Pohang Steelers at Hindmarsh Stadium on Wednesday night.

The skipper, twice on target in United’s last group game in the resounding thumping of Vietnamese strugglers Binh Duong, told au.fourfourtwo.com: “People can say what they like about what is likely to happen in the group but we can’t afford to think about that.

“We are under no illusions about the situation. We are by no means through yet. It’s dangerous to talk about a last day deciding game before you have played the match before.

“If you don’t focus on beating the team that’s put in front of you, then there is a real danger you can suffer. Then all the talk about the match against Changchun is pretty meaningless.

“We are expecting a tough game from Pohang. We had a great result over there (a 2-0 win) and they will be coming here looking to get a result I’m sure."

He added: “We’re at home and we had a very good result against Binh Duong in the last game. Hopefully the fans will turn out in numbers again and we can get another very important three points.

“Then we can look to the last match, not before.”

United certainly don’t go into the match with any reasons for complacency.

Experienced defender Ange Costanzo misses out through suspension while Brazilian Cassio has been ruled out for around nine months after suffering a serious knee injury during a friendly trial match last week.

To make matters worse, marquee striker Paul Agostino has been suffering with a mild case of chicken pox. However, coach Aurelio Vidmar is hopeful the experienced campaigner will have recovered sufficiently to play.

Cassio’s injury may yet allow Vidmar to bring in another player for the forthcoming A-League season but United cannot register anyone else for the current Champions League campaign.