Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt has opened up on their CAF Champions League target ahead of their group stage debut against Horoya this afternoon.
Chiefs face the 17-time Guinea Ligue 1 Pro champions after several logistical issues prevented their originally scheduled bow in the group stage against Wydad Casablanca.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the players ruled out for the Horoya clash
Lamine N'Diaye's side secured a 2-0 win in their Group C opener against Petro de Luanda last weekend in Conakry, with goals from veteran midfielder Abdoul-Aziz Nikiema and striker Yakhouba Gnagna Barry.
And Hunt, who faced the powerful West African side last year with the now-defunct Bidvest Wits understands the challenge that lies ahead for Amakhosi.
"We're playing a club that certainly has a lot of experience in CAF competitions you know, they did quite well last season and I actually played against them," Hunt said.
"They've got a good following back in Guinea and it certainly won't be an easy game."
With Chiefs qualifying for this stage of Africa's elite club competition for the first time in their history, Hunt under no illusions that they face a mammoth task against more experienced opposition.
However, the four-time league winning coach feels there's a chance to target to knockout stages despite the underdog tag they have as rookies.
"I've always wanted to do well in this competition but obviously I don't want to back, due to circumstances it was different. Nothing has changed for me personally," Hunt admits.
"Already we are in the group stages and we need to go one further and try and get into the knockout stage. But what we need to do is take one game at a time and not get too far ahead of ourselves.
"This is not an easy group, there are some teams that's got a lot of experience in this competition so we are very much underdogs in this competition."
Having faced Horoya twice in the Champions League, Hunt denied it can be used as an advantage when preparing for the encounter but urged his players to rise up the occasion for the highest level of club football on the continent.
"Yes and no," Hunt said about an advantage. "Obviously [Aristide] Bance is not playing I think he's retired but the framework of the team is still pretty much similar to what we played against last year.
"They will be tough, we know that. They came and did well against us here and we lost [in Guinea]. It will be a different game, they haven't changed much, obviously, I've changed [teams] but we'll worry about that later."
He added: "There's personal pride, team pride and club pride. I don't want to say there's pressure but we want to do well, as long as we have the right intent, play with intensity and our attitude is good then hopefully this will lead us [with good form] into the league as well.
"I think these types of games are good for us, it gives us a totally different perspective of how football is played in other parts of Africa, it's totally different from the PSL.
"The structure and players, physicality, size and everything. It's a great avenue for us to discover and let's see where we go."
Chiefs kickstart their Champions League campaign against the 2018/19 quarter-finalists at 18h00 at the FNB Stadium.
*Images via Kaizer Chiefs