Sydney have cruised into the top six after Talay's mid-season tactical overhaul but have fallen into the habit of winning big games and then dropping points the following week.
The Sky Blues have failed to back up after their two most-recent derby wins over the Western Sydney Wanderers and a victory against premiership favourites Central Coast Mariners last month.
Last week's 1-0 loss to Macarthur was particularly infuriating for Talay because the Bulls were reduced to nine men.
As his side prepare to host A-League Men wooden-spooners Perth on Sunday, Talay urged Sydney to find the form that can carry them deep into the finals.
"We definitely didn't perform the way we wanted to against Macarthur and the group knows that," he said.
"We discussed that this week and we need to get back to the way we play ... to be aggressive, play our type of football and perform well."
Sydney can still earn themselves a home final with a win, but that is dependent on Saturday's result between Wellington Phoenix and Macarthur.
Talay's side should be boosted by the return of Jake Girdwood-Reich and Jordan Courtney-Perkins after their involvement in the Olyroos' goalless U23 Asian Cup failure.
"They wanted to represent their country the best they could and qualify for the Olympics because it's a great occasion," Talay said.
"Not everybody has the opportunity to go and represent their country in the Olympics.
"(They were) a little bit down, but they seem to be happy to be back with the boys and they're probably looking forward to challenges this weekend."
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