Scara Ngobese peers through his room window and looks down at a number of his team mates who are milling about as they make their way through the maize of neat rows of Dutch colonial style lodgings at Chiefs base near Stellenbosch in the picturesque Cape countryside.

Scara’s appearance is greeted by David Obua who screams something to him in Zulu which brings about a cacophony of laughter from a group of players looking on.

As the players board the bus and make their way towards training, with sirens blaring from the police escort leading them to the University of Stellenbosch for a morning training session, Scara sits quietly gazing at the scenery in deep thought.

The much admired Ngobese has come under heavy scrutiny in the past couple of months after failing to deliver in his second season with Amakhosi, the way he did in his debut season in 2004 – 2005 when he played a pivotal role in helping the club win their second consecutive PSL title.

In that memorable 2004 – 2005 campaign Ngobese netted a goal in Chiefs penultimate game against SuperSport United, which meant that the league championship race would go down to the last day of the season.

Chiefs then went on to triumph over Celtic in the final game of the season and win the league; it was a truly memorable time for Ngobese who was tipped by most pundits to fail in his first season with Chiefs.

As he gazes out at the rolling hills and fast gathering rain clouds, Ngobese begins to open up “I have never felt fitter” says the midfield maverick.

He continues on “last year when I assembled for pre season training I felt flat, I knew I was not fit and to tell the truth I was just not up to speed if one had to see how unfit I was you would know that I was in a bad shape”.

A leaner fitter and a more disciplined Scara turned up when Chiefs began pre season training on the 26th June. At this moment Scara is ready for whatever challenge may come his way “when we went on the end of season break the coach gave us individual training programmes in order to keep us fit during the time off. With military efficiency and punctuality I completed that programme daily and also got a personal trainer to help me improve my general fitness” adds Ngobese.

Often criticized for having behavioural issues, Scara is open to clearing the air and is willing to set the record straight “I have done my wrongs in the past, all of that is behind me now I am a new man I have cleaned up my act and have changed a few things in my life which will help me to improve as a player.

For one I don’t like being late for training any more I have developed a habit from the coach which is to be punctual in whatever I do, if training starts at 15h00, I am present at 14h30.

Much talk has also centred around where he would like to play on the field as well as the fact that Scara drifts in and out of a match, the talented Ngobese does not shy away from answering these questions. As he says “people quoted me as saying this and that about where the coach plays me, that is far from the truth the fact of the matter is that no matter where he plays me I am happy to oblige.

For example if he plays me in defence than he must be having confidence in my abilities as a defender, than why should I have an issue with that”.

It has been a good start to the pre season for Ngobese having fared well in the early pre season fitness tests and thereafter, scoring a handful of goals in friendly matches. With Manchester United next on the menu, Scara is looking forward to learning a few more tricks of the trade from Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

As the bus comes to a halt at the training ground, Ngobese leisurely strolls towards the pitch once the session begins he gets into the thick of the action, fighting for the ball and dictating play from the midfield.