Thousands of loyal supporters braved the bitter cold on Sunday morning to witness the unveiling of the first eight players by the club.

The three biggest names signed by the club are the former Jomo Cosmos defender, Cheslyn Jampies, the former Orlando Pirates midfielder, Khethokwakhe Masuku, and the former Golden Arrows midfielder, Deon Hotto.

Jampies has attracted a lot of attention during the off-season and the Soweto Giants, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs were after his signature. The 26-year-old left-back, who has already been in the Bafana Bafana setup, told OFM Sport that he feels the style of Celtic better suits his own game.

“I’m a very wise person,” said Jampies. “If you look at the type of football I play, what I’ve seen from Celtic is the type of football I play. With all due respect to the other big teams out there, I’m overwhelmed by the interest, but I’ve made my decision.”

With the confirmed departure of the former Celtic captain, Bevan Fransman, to Maritzburg United, Jampies has a golden opportunity to slot into the role at the club and make it his own.

The Siwelele faithful were livid over the release of striker Lerato Lamola and versatile attacker, Vuyani Ntanga, who departed for Golden Arrows in a trade deal to secure the Namibian international, Hotto.

Hotto, in his turn, said he was delighted to have joined Celtic and resume his relationship with coach Serame Letsoaka.

“I’m very happy to have joined this beautiful club. I worked with Serame Letsoaka at the beginning of last season, so I’m happy to be working with him again.”

As for his goals at his new club, Hotto said it’s a simple target and he just wants to hit the back of the net. “I’m targeting nine or ten goals for the season.”

It is also confirmed that the Cameroonian goalkeeper, Patrick Tignyemb, will wear the captain’s armband this season. The news about this was broken to OFM Sport by the club’s CEO, Khumbulani Konco.

“We know last season we didn’t perform well, so we sat down as management and said let’s do proper planning. 

"The first and most important thing was to continue with the coach, then we went over to the scouting. 

"We looked at the positions where we were lacking and we definitely believe that with the names we announced we are strengthening the team. If this is not strengthening, then I do not know. 

"I’m announcing this to you first, Patrick Tignyemb will be the captain of the team.”

Konco added that another big signing would be made on Monday.

The Bafana Bafana midfielder, Thapelo Morena, was with the team on Sunday and the club said that he is still a Celtic player, however, OFM Sport has it on good authority that the player is still linked with a move to Mamelodi Sundowns, with the two clubs negotiating a trade deal for the Burundian striker, Fiston Adbul Razak. The player wore the green and white last season as a loan player for Celtic.

Morgan Piek/OFM News