MOROKA Swallows have become one of the teams to beat in the Absa Premiership, and will have to raise their game to continue their successful start to the season, coach Zeca Marques said after his side's 2-0 defeat to Bidvest Wits at Milpark Stadium on Tuesday night.

Swallows, the MTN8 champions whose stylish attacking football has caught the eye in the first third of the season, have faltered slightly in recent matches.

Their defeat against Wits was preceded by a draw with Black Leopards at home in the league, which followed an away penalties loss to Maritzburg United in the Telkom Knockout first round.

Marques admitted it was getting tougher for The Birds to win games as their reputation grew.

"We've been on form, everyone's been talking about us and we're the MTN8 champions. So now everyone you play really wants to go out and beat you," the Swallows coach said.

"We raised the bar, and now everyone's going out to match us. So now we have to find a way to raise our game again and overcome that. And that's good for football."

For Wits counterpart Antonio Lopes Habas, in contrast, the momentum is just starting to build. A Students team who made arguably the most impressive signings of the off-season started the season in patchy form, as a lot of new players took time to gel. But Wits have lost one game - the weekend's Telkom Knockout quarterfinal on penalties to Free State Stars - in their last eight.

"I don't know what the potential of this team is or how far we can go," Habas said.