Manly aren’t interested in making up the numbers in this year’s finals series.

If Trent Barrett’s men are going to be there, he wants them to make an impact.

Manly have gone from title contenders to walking the finals tightrope in the space of one month, dropping from third to eighth on the ladder with four losses in five games.

Their finals fate is still in their own hands, and they must secure just one more win than North Queensland or St George Illawarra to make the playoffs.

Given the form of both those teams Manly could do it with just one win or even two losses, but that’s not the kind of equation Barrett is interested in.

“We want to get there with some confidence and make a go of it, not just make up the numbers,” Barrett said.

“These opportunities don’t come that often – that’s what I want to impress on these young players.

“Opportunities to play semi-finals don’t come every year and I would hate to throw it away. That’s the reality of it.”

To do that though, Manly must force their way out of a seemingly fatal form slump.

They have now conceded 170 points in the past five weeks, and have won both halves in a single game of football just once in the past three months.

Confidence, Barrett admits, is absolutely shot as the Sea Eagles scramble for answers.

“Confidence is a funny thing,” he said.

“It comes and goes quite quickly. Who knows where it goes. But we’ve got to find it in a hurry.

“I think we’ve only got four who have played semi-finals before. Maybe the pressure or expectation of that might be in the back of their minds as well.

“But that’s something I’ve got to handle, something the players have got to handle, because we’ve got to get ourselves out of it.”