Kenny Miller had a simple message for his Maccabi Tel Aviv players as they trained for tonight's Europa League second qualifying round return leg against Sheriff Tiraspol: don't relax, build on what has already gone right. "We need to build a sequence of good matches," the head coach told his squad, according to ONE. "I want to see more of what we did in the first two matches and see improvement in things we worked on."

The words carry weight given where Maccabi stand. They travelled to Moldova eight days ago and tore Sheriff apart 5-0, a result that all but settles the tie before the sides even meet again. Sayed Abu Farchi headed the opener inside five minutes and later added a penalty, with Dor Peretz, Sagiv Yehezkel and Issouf Sissokho also on the scoresheet in Tiraspol.

That performance came only days after Maccabi had put three past Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Super Cup, meaning Miller's side head into tonight's second leg having scored eight goals without reply across their two most recent matches — the kind of form the coach now wants to protect rather than treat as a given.

Because Sheriff's ground in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region cannot host the return fixture, the second leg is being played at a neutral venue in Batumi, Georgia, with roughly 1,000 Israeli supporters expected to make the trip. No side has ever overturned a 5-0 first-leg deficit in a two-legged European tie, so Maccabi go into the match firm favourites to reach the third qualifying round.

That has left Miller with a selection dilemma rather than a tactical one. With qualification effectively secured, he is weighing whether to rotate his midfield, with winger Helio Varela — who only recently returned to training after Cape Verde's run at the World Cup — among the options he could bring into the side.

Miller himself is still a relative newcomer to management. The former Scotland striker joined the club in January as Ronny Deila's assistant, was handed the reins on an interim basis during the play-offs, and steadied a chaotic dressing room well enough to lead Maccabi to the Israel State Cup title. He was then confirmed as permanent head coach, and tonight's tie is his first taste of a European campaign in the job.

There is also a transfer subplot playing out around the squad. ONE reports that Abu Farchi, the match-winner in Tiraspol, has attracted scouting interest from Italian clubs Genoa and Torino, though the outlet cautions that work-permit complications could yet complicate any move for the 20-year-old forward.

For now, the focus in the camp is squarely on finishing the job against Sheriff and carrying the momentum of the last fortnight into the group stage of the Europa League, whichever opponents that eventually brings.