Cape Town - Steve Komphela has confirmed his first objective as Kaizer Chiefs coach is to successfully defend the MTN8 title.
In an ironic twist Komphela will face his former club Maritzburg United in his first official match on August 5 at the FNB Stadium.
In their ultimate pre-season preparatory match Chiefs take on arch-rival Orlando Pirates this Saturday.
The 48-year-old tactician has also acknowledged that he has big shoes to fill after Stuart Baxter guided Amakhosi to the Premiership and MTN8 cup double last season.
"The teams that are going to be campaigning in the MTN8 are going to send a message to everyone else, even to the supporters that hey, it's going to be tough this season and that's the tone, so personally I'd like to win and retain it," Komphela told KickOff.
"It's a great record they had. They were the best team defensively. Even last season when the games were going on, we were praying at Maritzburg that they must concede but they never did.
"They didn't lose, they didn't concede and that to me is a sign of a team that works together so you look back and say what made you not to concede and then try get to that level."