MARK McGhee hopes Motherwell can make the most of having home advantage in the second leg of their Uefa Cup first-round tie after being paired with AS Nancy in yesterday's draw.
The Fir Park club avoided 2004 winners Valencia in section three, and the manager believes that his side have a chance of reaching the group stages if they perform at the top of their game against the side who finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season.
"It's a difficult draw as any seeded team is going to be a good side, but the fact that we're away from home first is really important," said McGhee.
"The match that would have been the glamour tie and would have given us little chance was Valencia. But I think this one, like the three other teams we could have had, gives us a chance.
"We have to be prepared to win 1-0 over the two legs, which isn't the way we normally play, but you have to be very strict and disciplined in your defending and take your chances.
"Being drawn away first gives us a little opportunity to go there, keep it tight and maybe not be too ambitious; and then to come back here and really play the sort of expansive football we're used to playing to try and beat them.
"I think that if we play the way we did against Dundee United last Saturday then we will beat Nancy because we played as well then, particularly in the second half, as we played at any time last season.
"Our form is there so we have to take that into this tie."
Assistant manager Scott Leitch will watch Nancy host Le Havre in league action today, while McGhee leads his team in their Easter Road match against Hibs in the Premier League.
"I don't know a tremendous amount about Nancy; I know a little bit about French football generally, but I have already made calls to acquire some DVDs from our satellite television friend," said McGhee.
The full article contains 344 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
