CWMBRAN coach Sean Wharton has urged his side to 'do themselves justice' when they take on Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round second leg tie in Izmir, Turkey, tomorrow (5.45 BST).

Cwmbran played out a creditable 3-0 defeat against Maccabi at Cwmbran Stadium a fortnight ago.

Now Wharton (pictured) has urged his side to show what they are really capable of against a side with an annual wage bill of over £5 million.

He said: "We were relatively happy with the first leg but felt we let ourselves down by conceding the last minute goal. We weren't particularly confident going into that game and perhaps we showed them a little too much respect.

"Don't get me wrong, they are a great side, but we all felt that we could have done a lot better and put them under more pressure. The first goal underlined the gap in class, it was brilliant, but apart from that we contained them.

"At half-time it was 2-0 and we told ourselves to keep a clean sheet in the second half. So to concede a last minute goal was a sickener."

Wharton, who assists Brian Coyne with the managerial duties, is confident Cwmbran will perform better this time around.

"When we first played them a lot of our players weren't even half-fit. We didn't have the best pre-season but that wasn't anyone's fault. A lot of the team work full time and the only time they get to spend with their families is around pre-season.

"In that first leg I think it showed that we were a little off the pace. But since then we've had some hard games and the boys have been working hard and we know we can do better than the first leg."

Cwmbran take on Haifa in Turkey because of security fears in Israel.

The Cwmbran players have had their every move watched. A Police escort took them from the airport to the hotel where SEVEN police officers helped the team's arrival.

THREE undercover officers are also on guard 24 hours a day.

Security is paramount, but Wharton feels playing the game away from the Israelis' passionate crowd will help them.

"They will be able to play with a certain amount of freedom," he said.

"They know the game is won but they won't be under pressure from their fans to put in a spectacular performance. So they will be able to relax and play some good football and that is when they could be at their most dangerous."