Central Coast Mariners are only thinking of one thing to come out of tonight's match against second-placed Melbourne Victory....finals. The Mariners are under no illusions that finals qualification in the A-League will be a battle but are determined to make the most of the two chances in front of them.

First off is the toughest task in A-League football with a trip to the Telstra Dome to take on the Victory and coach Lawrie McKinna knows that a win will put them on the right track.

"We're not thinking about the Premiership or the Championship at this stage, the most important thing for us to focus on at this time is qualification for the Finals Series and we can virtually assure that with a win against Melbourne at the Telstra Dome," McKinna said.

"There were plenty of positives for us to take out of our loss to the Roar and we'll be looking to take these into Friday's game, where the atmosphere and sense of occasion at the Telstra Dome will be as good as any that we've experienced this season.

"We're definitely good enough to play Finals Series football and there is enough talent within our playing group to make a play for some silverware in February, but we need to get there first and that starts with a positive result against Melbourne."