The new season will start with Nkosingiphile Ngcobo in need of stepping up if he has made an honest assessment of all the years he has spent at Kaizer Chiefs.
Besides goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma, who made his first team in April 2017, Ngcobo is now the longest serving player.
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Yet for all the years since making his first team debut, he has played in less games (106) than he has not been involved in (128).
Reasons for not getting minutes have varied from injuries through to non-selection.
The 25-year-old played his first match for the senior team on March 9, 2019, while Ernst Middendorp was still the head coach.
He is the only outfield player still at the club from those who featured that day against Maritzburg United.
In that 2018/19 season, he went on to finish with two appearances which was not discouraging for a teenager recently promoted to the first team.
The following campaign (2019/20) he remained stuck on two games before then blossoming in the 2020/21 season playing 40 matches as Chiefs reached the CAF Champions League final.
Ngcobo provided four goals and had two assists as Gavin Hunt looked up to him for midfield creativity.
That remains his best season to date at Chiefs.
Disappointing was that he then featured 18 times under Stuart Baxter the next season with his input dropping by half as he remained stuck on the bench.
There was another drop in both appearances and minutes for the 2022/23 season with Arthur Zwane in charge which remained the same in the mess which defined the season when Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson called the shots.
Then when Nasreddine Nabi took over last season the minutes dropped again though he was fielded in 15 games.
Of worry was that there was no full shift from Ngcobo.
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So, for four years in a row Ngcobo has been going around in circles which he now needs to get out of in the new season.
His man of the match showing in the Toyota Cup was encouraging and now needs the gospel of consistency to be preached to him.
Photo: Darren Steward/Gallo Images
