Ronnie Moore believes the strenuous demands of the League One season will eventually check his Tranmere side's flying start.
Rovers have surprised many pre-season pundits by going 11 games unbeaten to establish themselves as the division's pacesetters.
But after losing top scorer Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro for three months due to a broken metatarsal sustained during last weekend's 1-0 win over Notts County, Moore is keeping his feet on the ground for the challenges that lie ahead against clubs with bigger resources than the Prenton Park outfit.
"I think all we've got to do is go along with the ride at the moment," he said. "We've won eight and drawn three after 11 games and if you do that until the end of the year you'll go up, there's no doubt about that.
"But we know - we're not daft - we've got a small squad for this level, probably the smallest budget for this level. So when the yellow cards and injuries hit us, that will be the testing time.
"When you look at MK Dons with all their millions and Sheffield United with theirs, Preston North End and teams like that - they've got that strength in depth where we've only got the 18 players really."
