The Mariners came in for some blistering comments from both Miron Bleiberg and Jason Culina following last weekend's 1-1 draw with Gold Coast United.

Everything from 'psychos' to 'dirty' was thrown at the Mariners in the aftermath of the contest but the captain is reluctant to be drawn into a war of words. He insists the players have a clear conscience with a desire to succeed within the laws of the game.

"I thought the comments were unnecessary, to be honest," Wilkinson told au.fourfourtwo.com. "I think talk about some of the challenges was blown out of proportion.

"People talk about the Hutch (John Hutchinson) tackle but he got the ball and Caravella got straight up."

Wilkinson said players would hold their hands up if they overstepped the mark but no-one in the team was going to apologise for battling hard, closing down space and trying to win a contest.

"Nobody goes out to hurt anyone," he said.

The Mariners travel to Perth Glory on Sunday looking for the three points that could keep their hopes of snatching sixth spot alive.

"Perth are a very solid team with a really good spine," said Wilkinson. "Jacob Burns is really hitting form and then you've got dangerous players up front like Mile Sterjovski and Jamie Harnwell.

"We know it's going to be a very tough game but we go there believing we can get the win we need. There's three games to go and if we were to win all three then I'm pretty confident that would see us there (into the finals).

"What we have to do is put a whole performance together, not a good 30 minutes or 45 minutes but the full game."

In other Mariners news defender Dean Heffernan has arrived in England to start his stint with third tier side Huddersfield Town.

As revealed exclusively by au.fourfourtwo.com earlier this week, Heffernan will remain with the Yorkshire club for the rest of the season with an option to extend his deal.