Yaya Toure has acknowledged Ivory Coast are not among the top sides at the African Nations Cup as they get their campaign underway on Tuesday.'
Toure, 31, will lead the Elephants into their Group D opener against Guinea in Malabo in the absence of Didier Drogba, who announced he would no longer play for his country last summer.
Twice runners-up in the past five tournaments, Ivory Coast remain one of Africa's biggest names, and with the likes of Gervinho and Wilfried Bony in their ranks, remain potent opponents.
However, Algeria and Tunisia have both edged in front of them in FIFA's rankings, and Manchester City midfielder Toure acknowledged his nation's star has waned a little.
"You saw our qualifying campaign. It was difficult and laborious. We come here with a lot of desire. We have a new generation which is coming on strong with Gervais, Bony, Doumbia and others," the midfielder is quoted as saying by RMC.
"Yes, the team is young, but it wants to learn, to experience this competition and go as far as possible. We know we're not favourites, but we want to show our compatriots that we're going to fly the flag high, that Ivory Coast is still a great football country, even if we have dangerous opponents up against us."
Toure's role is all the more important given Drogba's retirement. Coach Herve Renard told L'Equipe he had attempted to get the Chelsea forward, 36, to change his mind, but having failed to do so, called on Toure to step up.
"I tried, but I respect his decision," Renard explained. "Yaya has to take on his responsibilities as leader. He's capable of doing that, he's shown he can. They have different styles, but I know we can trust him to be there when needed."