The defending NSW National Premier Leagues premiers kept their title hopes alive with a 1-0 victory over then-competition leaders Sydney Olympic.

The Wolves now sit fourth, three points behind first-placed Sydney United 58.

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This weekend Western Sydney will travel down to Wollongong for a round nine clash.

The Wolves were outstanding defensively last Sunday, however Wilkshire said there is still room for improvement in the attacking half of the field.

"Winning becomes a habit, we need to be more clinical, more ruthless," Wilkshire said. "Nothing less than three points is good enough.

"We can still be better in the front third. Thomas James said to me last week was the worst game he's had for the Wolves. He'll make it up in the coming weeks, we didn't need him last week.

"We'll look to build on that result. If we don't go on and perform and take the three points on Sunday, last weekend was for nothing."

James was playing in just his third game after a drawn out departure from the Perth Glory earlier in the season.

The striker scored his first goal a fortnight ago against Rockdale before missing a penalty last weekend. While he came close on a handful of occasions, Olympic were able to contain James.

Wilkshire, however, is confident the Englishman will rebound.

"He had his moments last week," Wilkshire said. "Missing the penalty didn't help.

"No one plays at their best week in, week out. I'm sure he'll bounce back from the disappointment. We look forward to seeing him back on the scoresheet.

"He just needs to focus on his decision making, when to and when not to dribble, when to pass. He sometimes can get too hard on himself, he just needs to move on to the next moment.

"I'm confident we'll see him enjoying himself scoring goals in the next few weeks."

Impressed with the performance from the starting XI last weekend, Wilkshire is expected to stick with the same side that got the job done against Olympic.

That means Nick Littler is likely to return via the bench following his one-week suspension for a red card in the loss to Rockdale.

Entering this year's revamped competition at late notice as Sutherland's replacement, Western Sydney were expected by many to struggle.

Instead the young Wanderers squad has shown they can mix it with the top sides to sit eighth on the ladder. Wilkshire said it's been great to see the side make a successful transition from the competition's second division.

"They've done well coming up from NPL2. Them and Sydney FC have both had good COVID years.

"Western Sydney have stepped into the NPL1 better than some previous teams. It's a great opportunity for those younger players to play against men."