Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar says his team can ill-afford to think about the prospect of claiming the A-League minor premiership as the league-leaders attempt to negotiate their way through a gruelling fortnight ahead.

Adelaide, who still have games in hand, consolidated their position on top of the table on Friday night when Kristian Sarkies’ 40th-minute strike gave them a 1-0 win over Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium.

But with games against Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Queensland to come, and all in the space of 14 days, Vidmar said nothing could be taken for granted.

“We’ve got a couple of games in hand but that doesn’t mean anything unless you win them,” Vidmar said.

“It’s never easy coming here (to Perth) so to get the three points really showed we are serious about where we want to go as a football club.

“It’s games like this that if you are really serious about doing well — they are the games you need to win.”

Vidmar said Diego (calf) was facing a race against time to be involved in the next fortnight, while defender Scott Jamieson will be assessed after suffering a hip injury against Perth.

Meanwhile, Glory coach Dave Mitchell leapt to the defence of Eugene Dadi after the Ivory Coast striker missed several golden chances in front of goal against Adelaide.

“In recent weeks Eugene’s been playing well so you are allowed a bad game every now and then,” Mitchell said of the 35-year-old.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him. Players can have an off game.”

Mitchell said midfielder Wayne Srhoj was in doubt for Wednesday’s clash with Central Coast in Gosford after suffering a deep cork in his thigh.

But skipper Jamie Coyne is set to resume duties after recovering from a calf tear.

Perth could be as much as six points adrift of the top four by the end of the round but Mitchell refused to concede his team’s finals push was over.

“Look it’s going to be really difficult,” he said.

“We’ve only won once away from home and we’ve got four more games and three of them are away.

“So it’s making it very difficult for ourselves. There might still be a chance but we’ve got to win next week, and the week after, and the week after that.”

© AAP 2012

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