By Emmanuel Muga BBC Sport, Dar-es-Salaam

Ikhana believes Enyimba will break the mould

Kadiri Ikhana, coach of Nigerian side Enyimba, believes his club is poised to end the dominance of north African teams in the Champions League.

Ikhana, whose side lost 2-1 to Tanzanian champions Simba in Sunday's group A game, said the defeat will not stop his team from joining USMA, Esperance and Ismalia in the last four.

No Nigerian team has won the most prestigious competition in African club football.

"This team is well prepared and has improved tremendously since October last year, when I joined the club," said Ikhana.

The three-time Nigerian champions play their last group tie against Ismailia in Aba and Kadiri insists that their earlier 6-1 defeat to the Egyptian side will not have any negative psychological effect on his players.

"The fact that Ismalia beat us 6-1 has made some people believe that we are the underdogs when we face them again. But this is not the case.

"Defeats are normal in football. There are times when you just have a bad day.

"But we will not disappoint Nigerians [against Ismailia], as they have placed a lot of confidence in us."