TWICE last summer Motherwell ventured overseas with little to look forward to beyond topping up their tans.

Losing 2-0 at home to Panathinaikos in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier, before suffering the same fate when they took on Levante in the Europa League play-off round, meant both ties were effectively over by the time Stuart McCall took his players to Greece and then Spain for the return. The concession of a further four goals over the two away legs – with none scored – further compounded that sense of anti-climax.

McCall, though, is nothing if not a smart operator. You do not take a provincial club like Motherwell to cup finals and to the runner-up position in the Scottish Premier League, while also getting seconded on to the Scotland backroom staff, if you do not have something about you and McCall has learnt and adapted from his disappointments.

Scotland's ailing coefficient means there is no Champions League reward this time around for Motherwell's endeavours last year but a Europe League third round qualifying tie against Kuban Krasnodar will offer another stern examination of the Fir Park squad and their ability to cope with the demands of European football.

McCall's natural inclination is to set teams up to attack. He favoured a 4-4-1-1 system for most of last season in which all four in midfield were allowed to pour forward whenever a suitable opportunity arose. Most of those who played in advanced roles in the European games last year have now left the club – Jamie Murphy, Michael Higdon, Nicky Law, Henrik Ojamaa and Chris Humphrey – and with that change of personnel has come a different mindset. Kuban, if not a household name, are a team of the highest pedigree, finishing fifth in the Russian Premier League last season above the likes of Rubin Kazan and both Dynamo and Lokomotiv Moscow. Their players, beyond the one-time Liverpool maverick Djibril Cisse, are relatively unknown outside of Russia – and winger Aras Obiliz has just left for Spartak for £9m – but their ability to strike quickly and effectively on the counter attack is something Motherwell are well aware of.

McCall hopes to deny them that opportunity. He took the unusual step of selecting his team on Monday for tonight's first leg at Fir Park and has spent the rest of the week working closely on tactics and on how to nullify the opposition. A fired-up home crowd will urge their heroes to get forward as much as possible but McCall knows it is vital to strike a balance. When Motherwell travel to south-west Russia for the return match next week, their manager's only wish is that they are not making the long journey simply as tourists.

"Subconsciously I was probably overwhelmed last year with the Champions League and Panathinaikos, and I felt it would almost be a miracle if we got through," he admitted. "Then we got Levante and you look at them drawing with Barcelona. But the approach to this game, certainly at home, has to be different.

"I openly admit I'm a manager who likes to see his teams get at teams but we've got to be careful. We've signed Paul Lawson who's an anchor man. Last season we had [Keith] Lasley and Law who were both attacking players. My philosophy in the SPL has always been to score more than the opposition but it would be naive to think that, especially against Kuban.

"If it was 0-0 with 15 minutes to go then I'd hate to lose a goal. I'd take a 4-3 but goalless wouldn't be the worst because hopefully we've the makings of a solid side."

Lasley, one of Motherwell's most decorated European combatants, understood the need for a change of philosophy. "It's maybe not our natural game to be more cautious, especially at Fir Park, but we've found to our cost in recent years that that's what kills you," he said. "We were well in the games at home to Panathinaikos and Levante but then you just over-commit one player and they pick you off."

Kuban are again fifth in the table after the first three games of the new domestic season, and arrive in Scotland protecting an unbeaten run that stretches back to last winter.

"Since November they have not lost a game in 15, but 10 of them have been draws," added McCall. "Apart from one direct free-kick, their goals this season have been from counter attacks. So they are a threat when we are attacking.

"Are they better than Panathinaikos? I don't know. All I know is that we are ready and we're not fearing the tie."