It has been a turbulent week for the Reds following Vidmar's outburst with rumour, speculation and conspiracy theories running rampant since Saturday night.

Vidmar has been at pains to stress that the focus is firmly on the football now and Moore is expecting a tough fight.

He told the Courier Mail: ""There's no getting away from the fact that in their two games against Melbourne they were shocking.

"But I know they're going to be so much better against us. There's a lot of hard work for us to get through if we're going to get the right result.

"I would still stay that Adelaide are the favourites for this tie. But so long as we play to the level that we've been playing of late, I'm feeling very confident going into this game."

The winners of Saturday's tie will be guaranteed Asian Champions League action next season but another incentive for Moore and his colleagues is to banish last season's horror show at Hindmarsh on the final day of the campaign.

Roar headed for Adelaide knowing a win would see them lift the Premier's Plate. Instead they capitulated 2-0 with Danny Tiatto sent off.

Moore told au.fourfourtwo.com recently: "We have a chance to have another crack at it and we'll give it our very best."

Whatever the outcome, Moore is delighted with the way the club is moving forward. He said: "The improvement from last season to this season has been evident. That's important when you're looking to move forward. I definitely feel we're moving in the right direction."