The high-flying Wellington Phoenix have tongues wagging in the A-League but coach Ricki Herbert is staying grounded ahead of Friday’s clash with Adelaide.

The Phoenix travel to Hindmarsh Stadium sitting second on the competition ladder, their highest ever standing, on the back of five wins from their past seven matches.

Herbert said confidence was soaring within the club but insists the Phoenix are not getting ahead of themselves with a tough run home featuring five away trips from their remaining eight matches.

“It’s been really good and everyone’s working really hard,” Herbert said on Thursday.

“It’s a tough, tight league and we’re pleased with how we’re travelling but there’s a lot of hard games to go yet.

“We’ve talked hard about the depth of the league and how tough it is. So for us, it’s the old cliche, week to week.”

While the Phoenix’s steady rise into top-two contention has caught most off-guard it’s not the case for Herbert, who is used to having his team written off in pre-season.

“I think most people are surprised, if they’re honest,” Herbert said.

“But we’ve been in the finals series back-to-back for the last two years so I think the form speaks for itself as far as that’s concerned.

“I think some of the high flyers in the league haven’t managed to do that but we keep chipping away, keep working hard.

“It’s a resolute group and we’re giving ourselves a chance and that’s all we can ask for at this stage.”

Herbert said a lack of injuries had contributed to the recent consistency and he has no fresh concerns for Friday’s match, with Leo Bertos expected to play despite initial fears he may had broken his ankle in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Melbourne Heart in New Zealand.

While the Reds’ resurgence under John Kosmina has been halted by two straight losses, they receive a double boost with Brazilian defender Cassio (foot) and Ukrainian midfielder Evgeniy Levchenko (groin) set to return from lengthy injury layoffs.

After more than two months out Cassio will resume in his usual left back role with Levchenko set to be used at centre back, and Kosmina acknowledged the pair would face a challenging return.

“It’s not going to be easy because Wellington are a side in form at the moment and training is no substitute for a game,” Kosmina said.

“So that side of it, it might take them a little bit of time to get used to the pace.”

Kosmina identified in-form Wellington striker Paul Ifill as an obvious dangerman following his double against the Heart.