Mokwena has enjoyed a strong start to life in the Algerian Lique 1 with seven wins and one draw from their opening eight games to top the standings.

Last season, Alger made it as far as the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League, but ahead of kicking off their new group stage campaign, Mokwena insists he wants to take the team further.

Alger will face Sundowns, Sudan’s Al-Hilal, and DR Congo side Saint-Eloi Lupopo in a very competitive Group C after easing through their Second preliminary round qualifier with a 6-1 aggregate win over Ghana’s Asante Kotoko.

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Mokwena will face his former club for the first time since his departure in 2023.

He said in the Citzen: “The qualifiers are just the qualifiers, but the real competition starts in the group stages.

“We are grateful to be here and to try and do better than last season, reaching the quarter-finals was a great achievement for the club. We want to improve on that because the club is very ambitious, and the president is also ambitious.”

Mokwena added: “If you speak about Al-Hilal, they were in the quarter-finals last season. You speak about Sundowns, who were finalists, and MC Alger, who were also in the quarter-finals.

“Not a lot is being spoken about Lupopo, but they beat Pirates, and we know the pedigree of Pirates and you see their performances in the league this season. They beat Pirates convincingly in Congo and I watched the game, even the one in Orlando.

“They will be a very difficult team because they are well coached with a lot of physicality, aggressive runners and speed in the offensive line. 

“It’s going to be very interesting and I think it will be a tight group but we are excited about the opportunity to compete and try to do better than last season.”