Many fans tuning into Chiefs game against Tottenham Hotspurs this past weekend might have been pleasantly surprised to see the name of Mabhuti Khanyeza in the Chiefs starting eleven, well they might have been further surprised and can be forgiven for thinking that there had been a miss print on the Chiefs strikers jersey.

While many fans are used to the new Chiefs man's surname being spelt Khanyeza, where it was spelt Khenyeza on Saturday. He insists that is the correct way to spell his name as that debate rages on.

There were a number of very familiar things about the twenty five year old on Saturday. That was that he played with the same kind of dogged determination and up another hard running effort and he worked tirelessly up front for Chiefs, traits that Khenyeza has become famous for.

In his first game for the Amakhosi, Khenyeza displayed the touches that have made him a feared striker in the PSL down the years, and if it is anything to go by then the Chiefs faithful will have a lot to smile about in the coming months.

The player himself though believes that his start for Chiefs was a satisfactory one, and refuses to be engulfed by the praises he received in a number of the Sunday news papers for his performance on Saturday. Instead Khenyeza is aiming towards working harder over the next couple of days and is looking towards making a bigger impact during The Amakhosi’s next assignment, which sees them taking on arch rivals Orlando Pirates in a Vodacom Challenge play-off match in Port Elizabeth on Thursday evening.

Talking to kaizerchiefs.com on Sunday evening, Mabhuti says that he is focused on putting in the hours on the training ground in order to improve his fitness as he added “I was not over all happy with my performance on Saturday. The reason for that is because I feel that I need to really improve my fitness, I came into the Saturday game with just a week of full training and I need to get to a certain physical level which I feel I am close to but not there yet”.

Of his first experience in the gold and black of the Amakhosi, Khenyeza said “I have played many times against Chiefs and I always wondered what it would be like to have all those fans on your side. It is a really fantastic feeling to run out onto the pitch and have them cheering for you. To be honest I have never played in front of such a big crowd that were supporting my team. The atmosphere was fantastic”.

With his first taste of life as a Chiefs player, Khenyeza is looking for more game time and for him there can be no better opportunity than when Chiefs face old foes Orlando Pirates.

“There is nothing bigger in South African Football than a Chiefs/Pirates game. My aim is to train hard over the three days leading up to the game and hopefully the coach will give me the opportunity to play against Pirates” said Khenyeza.

He would like to do just one thing against Pirates on Thursday, “should I play my aim is to score goals and hopefully get us into the final against Spurs next week Saturday so that we could get another shot at Spurs and also try to successfully defend our trophy”.

After a day off on Sunday, which Mabhuti used to visit his family who live in Howick outside of Durban, the hard work begins for the Chiefs striker and the rest of his team mates late on Monday afternoon when Chiefs hold their first training session in Port Elizabeth ahead of the Pirates game.

The Amakhosi are in the favourable position of having extra days to prepare for Pirates who are in action against Spurs in Cape Town on Tuesday and will only be arriving in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday. Whereas Chiefs will leave Durban for Port Elizabeth at lunch time on Monday and will have extra time to acclimatize to the conditions in the windy city.