Victory suffered their fifth defeat in eight games at the weekend when they were convincingly beaten 3-1 by cellar dwellers Perth Glory.

Merrick had hinted he might wield the axe to his under-performing side in the hunt for results to get back into the top four.

But now he has vowed to stick with the same team for this weekend's must-win match against Adelaide.

Merrick only plans to bring Kevin Muscat back into the team after his suspension and re-introduce Steven Pace to replace suspended Steve Pantelidis in defence.

"If it was up to some supporters, it would be, 'Get rid of him, him, him and him'," Merrick told Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper.

"The vast majority of them played last year, so they're all good players, but we've been chopping and changing all year (because of injury and suspension).

"It's about getting some confidence and continuity.

"But everything we say is just rhetoric. It's all about performance on the field, and all we can do is go out and perform.

"If we sort out the defence and get the midfield back, we can have a real go at Adelaide and do well. But it's for the players to respond and bounce back and do well."

Merrick admitted his defence was to blame for Perth's final goal which sealed their fate.

"But we can fix that, and now is not the time to be critical of the players," he insisted.

"It was a disappointing result and performance, but we're keen to do well and set ourselves up for the Adelaide game.

"The next two games are crucial games for us. But because of the way we've played and the poor results, it does make life all the more difficult for us. With six games to go, I'm not going to cut and slash and be critical.

"We didn't have too many players at the top of their game (against Perth), so we really need to get all 11 back on their games."