As his side struggled early in the A-League season, Popovich remained calm.

The competition was a marathon, not sprint and it's a mantra he repeated on numerous occasions.

In his first year in charge, Popovich knew it would take time for things to click.

With four wins on the trot, the coach is confident that time has come.

Saturday's victory was the latest in the streak, a 4-2 triumph over Adelaide United at McKellar Park.

Canberra United now sits fifth on the ladder, level on points with fourth-placed Melbourne Victory and four points behind Sydney FC.

Popovich has enjoyed the surge up the standings but knows there is more work to do to qualify for the finals.

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"That confidence moving forward does set us up to have an opportunity to go for the top four," Popovich said.

"That's our goal. That's the goal we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season and we're still on track. It's great today to be coming off a four-game winning steak and we're looking forward to Western Sydney Wanderers next week."

Michelle Heyman was again the star on Saturday, scoring a hat-trick in the entertaining victory.

The striker now has nine goals for the season and looms as a crucial figure in the run to the finals.

Teammate Grace Maher opened the scoring with a fourth-minute penalty and said the challenge was to continue building.

"Four wins now, we came in knowing it's not easy to continue those winning [streaks] and teams want to come out and stop you," Maher said.

"These three points put us within touching distance.

"We have a big few games coming up. Every game towards the end of the season is like a final for us."

CANBERRA UNITED 4 (Grace Maher 4', Michelle Heyman 11', 30', 76') bt ADELAIDE UNITED 2 (Katie Bowler 20', Maruschka Waldus 32') at McKellar Park on Saturday.

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