Half a dozen games ago, the Red Bulls were struggling and searching for confidence. Five wins later they’re looking to guard against overconfidence, making sure they keep climbing out of the hole they have dug.

“There’s confidence. There’s definitely confidence. There’s belief. There’s understanding within the group. So that part’s good. But we’ve got to be careful,’’ coach Jesse Marsch said. “You’ve really got to be careful.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves, can’t feel too good about ourselves, because there’s lots of work to be done from many different levels. The key is for us to keep building on this confidence and keep putting good performances together.”

Between the MLS regular season and a run to the U.S. Open Cup semis — squeezing by Philadelphia in penalties — the Red Bulls have won five of six coming into Wednesday’s home game versus San Jose (7:30 pm, MSG). Striker Bradley Wright-Phillips (four) and midfielder Daniel Royer (two) have combined for a half-dozen goals in that span, Wright-Phillips notching tallies in consecutive games.

“I think there’s momentum in our group and confidence, but we have to maintain urgency. That’s a phrase we’ve used around here in making sure from the start we’re ready to go,” said Marsch.

“The grinding and the hard work is starting to come together in a good way. But I was quick to remind the group that means the work is just now getting started. We have some momentum, but have to keep our foot on the gas to make sure the momentum turns into real progress.”

And progress is what they need. While they’re actually a game ahead of last year’s pace at 8-8-2, they were fourth in the Eastern Conference at this point a year ago. Now they sit just seventh, and out of playoff position.

The Red Bulls have reason to be concerned about San Jose. Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski — whose 27 goals in 2012 are tied with Wright-Phillips and Roy Lassiter for the MLS single-season record — has deadly movement off the ball. And the Red Bulls are likely to be without defensive anchor Aurelien Collin (leg). Since the start of last year they’re 17-6-7 with him and 7-11-4 without him.