KENNY BLACK has warned Motherwell that the absence of Russian danger man Aras Ozbiliz will not make Kuban Krasnodar any less dangerous at Fir Park on Thursday night.

The 23-year-old has been allowed to leave Well's Europa League final qualifier opponents to join Russian giants Spartak Moscow.

But despite the absence of the big-spending Russian side's star man Black has no doubt that the Kuban ranks will still be packed full of quality when they arrive in Scotland.

However, the Well assistant manager admits there is a quiet confidence within the Steelmen's ranks that they can get the positive result they need to help boost their chances of making the Europa League proper for the first time.

The Motherwell No.2 said: "There is no doubt that in all the DVD's we have watched of Kuban that Ozbiliz was the main danger man and the player that really caught the eye.

"But even if he had been lining up on Thursday night the last thing we could have afforded to do would have been to concentrate totally on keeping him quiet.

"Kuban have invested heavily in their squad and they have quality in all areas and they have guys of the class of Djibril Cisse and the lad Ibrahima Balde the former Atletico Madrid striker.

"So we are under no illusions as to how tough this will be. Kuban lost out on fourth position on goal difference to Spartak Moscow in the Russian League last season and that is the perfect illustration of the quality in depth they have in their ranks.

"So they were not by any manner of means a one-man side and we wouldn't have been treating them as such.

"What our focus is on, is in making sure that we produce the best performance we can and if we do that then hopefully we will give ourselves a springboard into the second leg."

Although summer signings Iain Vigurs and Stephen McManus both picked up knocks in Friday's 1-1 friendly draw with Nottingham Forest, Black is upbeat about the prospects of both men making Thursday's first leg.

As he took stock of a summer of change at Fir Park, Black reflected there is a growing sense of optimism that despite the loss of big names like Darren Randolph, Michael Higdon, Nicky Law, Henrik Ojamaa and Tom Hateley, Well are if anything in better fettle when it comes to meeting the rigours of the new season.

The Fir Park assistant gaffer said: "Obviously we lost some very important players fairly early on. When that happens you wonder if you will be able to bring in quality of a similar level to replace them.

"But we have been very happy with the players who have come in and although we had James McFadden in for the second half of last season we did not have him for either the Champions League or Europa League qualifiers.

"So you have Faddy coming in with a reputation as a big- game player and we have been lucky enough to get Stephen McManus in as well, who has played in the Champions League with Celtic and, is of course, another full Scotland international.

"With Paul Lawson and Iain Vigurs also settling in really well from Ross County we are very pleased with the shape we are in ahead of the new season.

"But Kuban will be a huge test of just where we are and then we have to front up again for our SPFL Premiership opener, at Hibs, on Sunday three days later.

"So it may be the first week of the season, but it is already a hugely important few days for us and it is vital we get the best possible start in both competitions."