Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has promised that his side will be one of the teams challenging Mamelodi Sundowns for honours in the upcoming season.

Last campaign, Chiefs were nowhere near the title race in the league or domestic competitions as they finished eighth on the log table. They also failed in the MTN8 after losing to rivals Orlando Pirates in the semifinals and lost to minnows Richards Bay in the first round of the Nedbank Cup, all under coach Gavin Hunt.

With Baxter having returned for his second spell and looking to end a six-year trophy drought, he fired the first salvo at Sundowns.

Baxter feels Sundowns would be the ones who will be under pressure to win the league after the success they have enjoyed in previous seasons and the number of signings they have made.

The two teams will first face each other in the MTN8 quarterfinal match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday at 3pm, in what will be a repeat of the 2012 fixture.

“The pressure will be on Sundowns because of the way they run the club. Paris Saint-Germain have just signed Lionel Messi and the only thing that will satisfy everybody is the Champions League trophy,” Baxter told the media through a virtual conference yesterday.

“When you sign as many players as Sundowns, you increase that pressure. The bar is set high, so they will have a favourites stamp and it is up to the rest of us to chase them down and make sure that we eventually knock them off from the top and bring some sort of great competition into the league.”

With Chiefs also going all out in the transfer market by bringing in quality players, while AmaZulu, Swallows, Cape Town City and Orlando Pirates also added to their squads, Baxter feels the competition will be tight this season.

“I would like to think that we will be the chasing pack and I would like to think that we would have a little say where the trophy goes to at the end of the season,” Baxter said.

“I think the gap has increased and it is not because we didn’t sign players. I think there have been a few things why gradually Chiefs have been away from that benchmark. I hope the rebuilding process is going on and that will lead to closing that gap and eventually knock them off.

“I’m sure there are few clubs who are thinking the same from the chasing pack that they would like to do that, and this season will be competitive and tighter.”