Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka and captain Terry McFlynn agree confidence will be key as their side attempts to break back into the A-League’s top six.

The Sky Blues are riding high after a 2-1 win over Perth that some pundits dubbed season-changing, with Lavicka keen to bottle the feeling that has lingered for much of this week.

“The confidence is of course higher now, because of the good performance and the good result when we play Perth – it lifts us up,” he said on Friday.

“You always try to give the players the confidence. You speak with them individually and as a team, trying to lift them up.

“Everything is about confidence … (and) if we keep the consistency – what we’ve been missing sometimes this season – I think we have a real chance to reach the top six.

“Of course, we are talking about consistency every week at training when we get inside for the team talk.

“Everything is better but we all know that another tough and important game is coming now.”

Sydney FC face Adelaide United on Sunday, but the Reds are coming off their own high – a 3-0 win over Indonesian side Persipura Jayapura in Thursday’s Asian Champions League qualifier.

McFlynn, who replaces Karol Kisel (groin) in the side after serving a one-match suspension, isn’t expecting things to be easy.

“Goals breed confidence. They’ll be confident going into our game on the weekend now on the back of three goals last night,” he said.

“As I’ve said all season, we just have to prepare and control what we can control.

“The league’s that tight this season that a win or a loss either way can put you in or out of the six, as we’ve found out to our peril.”

Lavicka said he had no thoughts about the end of his coaching tenure at Sydney, which will coincide with the end of his side’s 2011/12 campaign.

“This season is continuing. I have a high motivation and a responsibility as well to do the best that I can.”