The Red Bulls have gotten within touching distance of the top seed in the Eastern Conference – and the CONCACAF Champions League bid that goes with it – by focusing on the little steps, so they don’t trip along the way. A win Wednesday against Montreal will put them just one step away from reaching that goal.

The Red Bulls (15-9-6), sitting with the best record in MLS, would clinch first place in the East with five points from their last four games. A victory Wednesday to cap off a three-game homestand would leave them needing just two points in their final three tilts to finish atop the conference.

“Finishing top of the East and the Supporters’ Shield, it gives us something to play for, right?” coach Jesse Marsch said. “It’s not like we’re just in the playoffs and on cruise control. We need to, every game, understand what the mentality of real games is like, because there’s teams that we’re playing that are desperate for points to make sure that they get themselves into the playoffs.

“All in all, the fact that we have things to play for means that we can’t take the foot off the pedal. Now, that’s been an emphasis of ours, regardless of where we’ve been on the table. But there’s something tangible out there to continue to strive for, and again, the way we get there is understanding what the daily process is and to go through it game-by-game.”

The Red Bulls are three points ahead of second-place archrival DC United (51-48) with two games in hand. They are tied with Los Angeles for the most points in MLS, but hold two games in hand on the Galaxy as well. Their greatest threat in the Supporters’ Shield race may be FC Dallas, which has 50 points and also four regular-season games left to play.

“The Supporters’ Shield conversation continues to get louder, and we know that. From the very beginning, we drew out that we wanted to finish one or two in the conference,’’ said keeper Luis Robles, who has played 102 straight games and is one win shy of Tony Meola’s team record of 48.

“We wanted to avoid that play-in game. As long as we continue to do the things we’ve done well, along with the idea that there are still some things we can improve on, and if we can improve those as well, then we’re in a great position.”

The Red Bulls have been vulnerable to pace, and Montreal has plenty of it — as do the Chicago Fire, their opponent in the season finale. The Red Bulls play at Toronto on Oct. 14 and then face lowly Philadelphia.