Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele is eager to get his hands on the MTN8 trophy which has eluded the club for seven years.

The Buccaneers have not tasted glory in the top-eight competition since winning back-to-back MTN8 titles in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The Soweto giants are set to welcome Highlands Park to the Orlando Stadium on 17 August when the two sides square off in their MTN8 opener.

Jele admits that they are focused on their first game against the Lions of the North, but insists their main objective is to lift the top-eight trophy at the end of the tournament.

‘Obviously, we’re a big team – Orlando Pirates competes for every cup, so this one we just want to go out and compete and we’ll see where we finish,’ Jele told the media.

‘But our ambition is to go to the last game of the competition, which is the final of course, but the important part is to focus on the first game against Highlands Park.’

The 32-year-old defender admits that winning the MTN8 title will give them added motivation to do well and claim more silverware this season.

‘Yeah, I think to get a silverware [early on] will serve as motivation for everyone in the team to do well in the season ahead because this one is only four games to play,’ he added.

‘So, we just have to focus on that and try to win it if we can but, like I said, the first thing is to focus on the first game because it’s very important.

‘Last year we lost out to SuperSport United on penalties in the first round, so this year we want to proceed to the next game.’

Orlando Pirates will now turn their attention to this weekend’s Caf Champions League clash with Zambian side Green Eagles away from home on Saturday.