JOMO Sono says the obituaries of Cosmos are being written while his club is still very much alive.

Bottom-of-the-log Cosmos, with only nine points, take on third-placed Kaizer Chiefs (28 points) in the Absa Premiership match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth tonight.

But Sono is not yet ready to be buried, by either Chiefs or the detractors of Cosmos. "As expected, some of our experts are sending us to a mortuary while we are still alive. They are in for a big surprise," he said.

"We have been in a situation like this before and we still managed to beat the axe. We are not going to spend sleepless nights worrying about that because we are not going to be relegated."

The reason for Sono's optimism is not hard to find. Chiefs are under pressure from their fans, who have accused them of not buying new players during the recent transfer window.

Their problem is compounded by the loss of two of their influential players through injuries, Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Siphiwe Tshabalala.

"It's a huge challenge for us," said Amakhosi manager Bobby Motaung. "We are under pressure because we did not join other teams in the transfer market looking for players.

"It would have been unfair of us to buy players just for the sake of it. We have several new faces who joined us late last year and have shown a great potential. They must be given a fair chance (to play)."

Cosmos have a gifted right wing-back in Siyabonga Nhlapo, who has been a marvel to watch when in possession. He should keep tabs on Chiefs' Abia Nale and Josta Dladla, who have been assured of enough game time this time around.

At the time of going to press, Cosmos were still waiting for Russel Mwafulirwa's documents to register him as a naturalised South African citizen.