Adelaide United coach John Kosmina hopes he's seeing signs of a revival for his A-League club after a 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix.

Coach John Kosmina hopes Adelaide United have taken their first step towards an A-League revival.

Adelaide's 2-0 victory over Wellington Phoenix on Friday night lifted the Reds from last position.

Remarkably for a club who sacked their coach and captain in the past fortnight, Adelaide sit just one point behind sixth-placed Melbourne Victory.

Kosmina also hoped the triumph against Wellington, whose travel troubles continued, would restore self-belief for the Reds.

"The teams are all a game or two apart (on the ladder)," Kosmina said.

"If you can show some consistency in terms or your application and how you go about your business, you're starting to get some results.

"Look at Melbourne Heart, who we play on Wednesday - they struggled early on but stuck to their guns and now the ball has started to fall for them.

"We have got to do the same thing."

Kosmina was heartened by the response of defender Jon McKain, who he removed as captain mid-week.

McKain was a solid substitute against the Phoenix just days after being deposed as skipper by goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.

"He was pretty focussed on trying to prove a point to me, which is a good thing - and he did well," Kosmina said of McKain.

The Reds lost Spase Dilevski to a groin strain, with the midfielder in doubt for Wednesday's away match against the Heart.