Papas hoping Wellington win boosts Newcastle's finals bid

Newcastle Jets head coach Arthur Papas called on his players to use Friday's 4-0 win over Wellington Phoenix as a platform to launch a bid to qualify for the A-League's end-of-season finals.

All four goals came in the second half for Papas' side, with Cameroonian winger Olivier Boumal claiming a brace within 18 minutes of the restart as Newcastle won for the first time in five games.

"We know that you can fall away fairly quickly - the league hasn't been kind to a few teams," said Papas, whose side moved up to eighth in the table. "It's important to maintain some ability to stay close to the top group. We're still not there yet."

He said the win was "important for us as a result to give us that chance to build something and we've got another tough game next week."

Victory takes the Jets to within three points of sixth-placed Sydney FC, with Papas' side having played one game fewer than the five-time champions as the race for a place in the playoffs intensifies.

The top six teams at the conclusion of the regular season advance to the finals series, with the A-League champions crowned at its conclusion.

The win comes after a series of encouraging displays by the Jets failed to yield the expected outcomes, but Papas expressed hope the free-scoring second half performance against Wellington will also have longer-term benefits.

"You see the difference in the first half, when we don't score and we don't take our chances then little things creep into the group as well in terms of the belief," he said.

"When you score, straight away you see the momentum change and that confidence that goal gives you to go is important.

"We've been saying internally that we believe this is very possible in this group. Let's look forward now and see if