“There’s a lack of confidence amongst some players, especially away from home,” said the Scot after his side's 3-1 loss to cellar dwellers, Perth Glory.

“If all the players believed that we are going to reach the finals, you wouldn’t see a performance like that.”

Merrick was visibly downcast after seeing his side well beaten by a Perth outfit who had failed to win a home game for over a year.

With the notable exception of the tireless Archie Thompson, the visitors were second-best in every department and looked a pale shadow of the side that so dominated the A-League last term.

Kevin Muscat’s pugnacious presence was sorely missed by Victory, but Merrick refused to use the absence of the suspended former Millwall man as an excuse for his side’s lack-lustre display.

“We definitely missed Kevin,” he said. “But you can’t put it down to one player.

"If it all comes down to one player being unavailable then you haven’t got a very strong team and you don’t deserve to be in the finals."

But Merrick remained defiant about Victory’s finals credentials.

“I would say that we are a good enough side to be in the finals," he insisted. "We’ve got six games to go and I’m still very positive about it.

"The two teams that are above us in third and fourth are Adelaide and Newcastle and they are the next two games that we play at home, so it’s still in our hands.

"We just have to win those games. I think we can do it, but it’s more important whether the players think we can do it.”

Merrick’s opposite number Dave Mitchell, meanwhile, was understandably delighted after seeing his side turn in their most impressive display of the season to secure their first home win since November 2006.

“It was great a result and a great performance,” he enthused. “First-half we dominated play and created many chances and in the second we produced a great defensive performance. I was really happy for the players.”

Though admitting that Glory’s chances of making a late play-off push are slim, Mitchell insisted that a top-four finish is not beyond the realms of possibility.

“Mathematically it’s possible and while that is still the case, we will try to get there,” he said. “We’ve got Wellington now, we’re off the foot of the league and hopefully we can get a result over there next week.

“We’ve done a lot of hard work over the last month and the players have performed really well.

“The players look like they’ve got a lot of confidence back in themselves and I’m really pleased for them.”

Mitchell reserved special praise for Nikita Rukavytsya whose two-goal haul took his tally to four in what is his debut A-League season.

“Niki is a fantastic talent,” said Mitchell. “Give him the chances and the confidence and he will score goals.

"He wants to learn and get out on the park and he’s a breath of fresh air. The club have got themselves a real asset here.”