Only victory against Wellington will put Gold Coast United in the position that coach Miron Bleiberg wants them.
United has had a disrupted start to the season with two byes, a midweek game, and Tahj Minniecon and James Brown away with the Olyroos, but three points against Wellington on Friday night will smooth all that over and leave the second-year club on par with 22 games to play.
"This game against Wellington is a season-defining clash," Bleiberg said.
"If we win we can jump into second but if we lose we are well outside the top six; same goes for Wellington so this is a big game for both clubs."
Bleiberg insists that he is not happy with where the club sits eight weeks into the season but all that can be changed with a home victory against the Phoenix.
"We knew that we had two games and then an interruption, and then another game and an interruption to start the season," Bleiberg said.
"And I emphasised to the players all along that we needed to get maximum points from those first three games … by maximum I mean nine, eight or seven points, and you know how many points we got from those three games? Two."
"So I am not happy with where we sit."
But the coach is pleased with the way his men pulled through a testing period of four games in fourteen days which saw them unbeaten with wins over Newcastle and Perth and draws with the Mariners and Sydney FC.
"We put our second target to get at least seven points from those four games and we got eight so that was pleasing - if you include a win against Wellington then we are back to square one - to where I want to be," he said.
United sit in seventh spot on 10 points but are just two points from the second placed Brisbane Roar on a congested Hyundai A-League ladder.
For Bleiberg and his men it is a far different challenge to that of the inaugural year where, after spruiking they would go through the season undefeated, the Gold Coast opened with three convincing wins and entrenched themselves at the top-end of the ladder.
"It is different this time around. Now we must climb up the table to prove that is where we belong but last year we were always in the top-three," he said.
"Psychologically it's different but I think we will prove that near the top is where we should be."