Andile Jali is set to put the disappointment of last season behind him and feature in the KV Oostende starting lineup again as they make their debut in European club competition on Thursday against French giants Olympique Marseille.
Midfield star player Jali had to play second fiddle last season and at one stage had let his weight balloon as he rarely featured in the team.
But a solid pre-season has Jali right back in the frame with head coach Yves Vanderhaeghe expected to use the former Orlando Pirates maestro much more in the new season.
The 27-year-old Bafana regular got a clear signal about his chances when he was used in the starting XI at the weekend in a friendly against another French giant, Lille.
Tomorrow, Oostende are away at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille for their first game in the Uefa Europa League. It is the same venue where Bafana lost 3-0 to France in the opening match of the 1998 Fifa World Cup.
The Belgian club have chartered a plane to take the team to the south of France this morning and were offering supporters a chance to fly along and stay at a five-star hotel for a rather stiff cost of R10000 per ticket.
The return match of the third round tie will be played in Oostende on Thursday next week.
KV Oostende qualified for the Europa League after they lost in last season's Belgian Cup final, in which Jali was an unused substitute.
The team finished fifth in the regular season.
Vanderhaeghe said yesterday: "We have music again in our team but we still have to see if the melody stays as long and consistently as it was last season.
"We have lost some key players and it is not easy to replace them. That's why I am chasing fifth place again. Our aim is to win as many games as we can and improve the players."