Celtic yesterday confirmed the appointment of Komphela on a two-year contract with a one-year option to renew as a replacement for Serbian coach Veselin Jelusic.
Komphela quit Chiefs in April in the wake of a fan riot after a Nedbank Cup semi-final loss to Free State Stars at Moses Mabhida Stadium condemned the Soweto giants to a third straight season without silverware under his watch.
The former Bafana Bafana coach, who sometimes needed police escorts from stadiums last season, previously did creditable work with more modestly assembled outfits Ea Lla Koto and Maritzburg United, guiding the latter to a maiden top-eight finish in 2014/15.
"I don't know if I can handle pressure, only people can tell. But I think I've been in an environment that is extremely testing,'' Komphela said at his unveiling.
"And one then cannot come to Bloemfomtein Celtic thinking that the fact that you've been through a trying and testing environment then it's just spontaneous. No no, it's not like that, environments differ.
"Bloemfontein Celtic has its own unique pressure. I still need to adapt to such pressure, get to be oriented so that I can find a way to navigate. But all I can say is that every team, every team in the PSL, the Absa Premiership is just unbelievable, everybody is under pressure ... Bloemfontein Celtic is no different.
"Go to teams that have completed low at the bottom and they are still under the pressure of wanting to come back. Teams that just got to the Absa Premiership are under pressure to perform. The team that just won the championship is under pressure as well to maintain such success. Even the one in second and third, everybody is under pressure.
"It is just to deal with the pressure and take it more positively, it should not consume us. It is only through pressure that we grow."