Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns veteran Hlompho Kekana says the reigning Premiership champions are aiming to improve on their record points tally in the 2016/17 Premiership campaign.
Kekana will start his reign as Mamelodi Sundowns captain in a dead-rubber against Enyimba on Tuesday in Nigeria.
The Brazilians have already qualified for the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League, while the Nigerian side are already out.
But the free-ride will end there. When he returns to the country, Kekana has to lead the side in their quest to win the MTN8 against Pretoria rivals SuperSport United on Saturday.
After that, the Brazilians will start their league defence. They romped to the title last season, amassing a record 71 points in the process.
The general feeling is that this season's winners will not have so many points, with the challengers taking points from each other. But don't tell that to Kekana.
"As a team we're always looking to improve," Kekana told Vodacom Soccer. "We will be trying to beat our own record. If we are professional enough, we will do that because we know that as Sundowns we are expected to win at all times.
"I am quite confident that we can do that because we are driven individuals. It's always difficult to play under such expectations but we are professionals and we are ready for it.
"The pressure will be high. As players we need to level our heads and try to be humble, knowing that the target is to improve where we left things off last season. We are up for the challenge."