Glory may have defeated Phoenix 1-0 through Shane Smeltz's third goal of the season in the first half, but for large patches of the game, Perth conceded possession to Wellington in midfield.

However, with Phoenix missing the goal-scoring talents of Paul Ifill and Tim Brown, Wellington couldn't capitalise on their dominance as a resolute Glory defence repelled their attacks quite comfortably for the majority of the match.

Despite this, Ferguson said he was a trifle disappointed with the performance.

And, the coach knows his side needs to lift over the next two matches on the road if Perth are to maintain the winning run that sees them in second place on the Hyundai A-League table, just behind Brisbane on goal difference.

"It's great to get the three points," Ferguson said. "It's always nice to get them.

"It wasn't a great performance today again, but I've seen us play better and we've come away with nothing, so got to be happy with that."

Ferguson, though, felt his team lost their structure somewhat during the second half.

"We looked as though, the longer the game was on, we got stretched a little bit," he said. "The back four would be winning the ball and we (the midfield) were probably 10, 15 yards away from the defenders.

"They were knocking it beyond (the midfielders) and Wellington Phoenix were picking it up and that's what was causing us problems.

"It's funny, I've just come out of that dressing room there, we're bitterly disappointed but we're grateful and delighted with the three points. It's just in the manner we've played and we know we've got to do better."

Despite his concerns, Glory have still won their first three games of the season and will be gunning for a record fourth consecutive win when they take on the Mariners in Gosford next weekend.

"Even though I might not look at it I'm delighted," Ferguson said. "You know I sat there last year and went through all those defeats, week in, week out and trying to make excuses and trying to keep these boys up.

"But the great thing is with this, we've got nine, we've got maximum points, we've got another three points, we haven't conceded another goal.

"We're delighted that way, but we know deep down we can play a lot better than that and that was why there's disappointment in the manner we played today.

"It's a strange league, it's a tough league and there are fine margins in winning and losing and that was the same today."