In 2008, Kuban celebrated their 80th anniversary. During the off-season, Aleksandr Tarkhanov was appointed head coach. After two rounds of poor play, Tarkhanov resigned (ostensibly for health reasons) and was replaced by Sergey Pavlov. The team finished second (behind FC Rostov), winning promotion to the Russian Premier League. Their stay was short-lived, however, since the club was relegated again to First Division after a 15th-place finish the following year (losing 3–0 at home to two-time champions Rubin Kazan) and the sacking of head coach Sergei Ovchinnikov. Kuban returned to the Premier League after defeating Zhemchuzhina 1–0 at Sochi on 17 October 2010 and a goalless draw with Nizhny Novgorod on 24 October.