Finals, ALM wooden spoon on line in Macarthur v Phoenix

Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay has revealed his side held a hard truths meeting this week in an effort to arrest their slide and reach the A-League Men's finals.

The Nix looked likely top-four finishers a month ago and were spoken of as a championship roughie.

But heading into a final-round clash with Macarthur, they stand to miss out on the finals if they don't pick up at least a point in Campbelltown on Saturday night.

Talay's side has fallen in a heap and the departing coach knows it, calling the meeting to shock players into action.

"We got them to confront each other about their strengths and then what they can improve on," he said.

"Coming from their teammate rather than from the coach at times, it was a little bit eye-opening for some players.

"Sometimes self awareness disappears ... you don't see it because it's your behaviours, your actions."

The Nix threw away a shot at history with their last defeat, a 4-0 loss to Western Sydney last Friday night.

Until that point Wellington were the only side this campaign to have scored in every single league match.

Incredibly, they were two matches away from becoming the first team in the history of the men's Australian national league - dating back to 1977 - to have scored in every league match.

Talay said that scoring record showed what the team's strength was.

"We do score goals. We do create opportunities, but what we heavily rely on ... is our structure defensively, and that's been poor. It's something that we definitely need to improve on," he said.

The equation is simple for Wellington - win or draw and they are through to the finals, but lose and they are at the mercy of other results.

They currently sit three points above Perth Glory and Western United, who face each other later on Saturday, and Newcastle Jets who face already qualified Sydney FC on Sunday.

All three chasing sides could snatch sixth spot with a win should Wellington lose.

"The players comprehend what needs to be done. The mindset will be positive. We're not going there to play for a draw. We'll play our normal game to try to win the game," Talay said.

Macarthur cannot reach the finals but Talay expects to face a motivated Bulls side, who must win to avoid their first wooden spoon.

"I'm sure that they don't want to finish bottom of the table and end the season in that way," he said.

"So it's very important that we go with the mindset of trying to win the game and then as the game goes we'll need to manage it and what we need to do from the sideline as well."