Dubbed as the new great hope for Amakhosi, Siyabonga Nkosi comes to Chiefs from Bloemfontein Celtic with a lot resting on his shoulders after the hype created about his transfer from the Free State to Gauteng.

Having played a key role in helping Celtic lift the SAA Supa8 trophy and in the process knocking Chiefs out in the first round Nkosi is well aware of the cloud of expectation that lingers above his head.

The young midfield is not going to shy away from the fact that although there might be much responsibility being placed on him he is ready to live up to the hype. Nkosi met most of his Chiefs teammates for the first time on Monday. Coach Ernst Middendorp welcomed him into the Kaizer Chiefs team - who along time ago made it crystal clear that he wanted the young midfielder in his team.

It is the kind of faith that Ernst Middendorp showed in Nkosi that has motivated the young man from Newcastle in Kwa Zulu Natal, to move to the biggest club in the country and help the team reach unparalleled heights of success.

“The team and the coach showed faith in me and it will be my turn to repay their trust that they had in me. They know I can deliver the correct results or else they would not have invested in me - it is time to let their investment grow” adds Nkosi. The former Celtic hit man knows that the Chiefs fans will accept nothing less than good results on the field of play and he is ready to meet those expectations.

Nkosi continues further “there is a lot expected of Chiefs and I know that one has to be confident in his own abilities and I know that this team can meet those expectations. For me personally I have a lot riding on being at Chiefs and there are people who ensured that I got this opportunity, so I can not let myself or them down”.

With the issue of orientation out of the way, the next question to be answered is what jersey number will he use, having played most of his life wearing the number 15 shirt.

With Chiefs having retired the number 15 a few years ago in honour of club legend Doctor Khumalo who used the number 15 shirt from 1987 to his retirement in 2003, Nkosi explains the toughest decision of his Chiefs career so far.

“You know it has been on my mind for a while and I first thought of using 51, 115 and a host of other numbers at the end I opted for 14 because it is the closest to 15”.

Siyabonga has said that he does not mind the number on the back of his shirt as long as he plays week in and week out, in helping Chiefs achieve the desired results.