The Reds host Central Coast Mariners tomorrow night and follow up with a midweek encounter against Perth Glory.

"We've got a massive five days ahead of us and it will probably make us or break us," said vice-skipper Lucas Pantelis.

Knowing maximum points from both games could launch United back in finals contention, Vidmar has also identified the need to get two positive results at Hindmarsh and improving on United's indifferent home record this season.

"It has been tough but there's still a fair bit of fight left in us, and the next couple of games are going to be crucial for us, they'll dictate whether we get into the finals or not," Vidmar said.

"We've still got a lot to play for, and none of the players should have any doubt that we should be able to get into the finals. We're still in with a chance so I still believe we can do it."

The Reds were 90 seconds away from securing all three points last Saturday night against Gold Coast United with most observers suggesting United deserved the win.

"The key for us is to go out there tomorrow and back that up," Vidmar said.

Pantelis concurs with his coach, believing the challenge for the Reds will be to carry on the encouraging form from last week.

"Going by last week's game, how we performed and what we should have achieved, we know tomorrow night's game against the Mariners and also Tuesday against Perth Glory could be the start of something that could be quite good for us," Pantelis said.

"With this league, the way it's panning out, if you get two or three wins in a row, you're certainly back up there, so we're still very confident, we got a lot of confidence from last week's game, we know we can mix it with the best, it's just a matter of being consistent and doing it week in week out."

Vidmar will wait until after the squad's final training session before deciding if defender Iain Fyfe is available, after going down in a physical challenge last weekend, while Paul Reid and striker Lloyd Owusu could also come into consideration after both trained strongly throughout the week.

The Reds meet a Mariners side that are also starting to feel the heat, the team from Gosford without a win in their past seven matches.

Adelaide's previous two matches with the Mariners have both been tightly contested affairs, and with so much to play for, Vidmar is expecting tomorrow night to be no different.

"Well they (the Central Coast) are in a bit of a desperate situation as well. They had a draw last week after five losses on the trot, so they've probably taken some positives out of last week's game," Vidmar added.

"They're always difficult games against Central Coast, they've always been very close games and I'd imagine tomorrow night would be exactly the same."