Football Season Guide

Sandefjord pulled off a pretty impressive instant return to the top-flight as a very strong run of form in the second half of last season saw them pip IK Start for the second place in the standings, going on an unbeaten run from July until early November and winning five games in a row in the final stretch. Marti Cifuentes stays on as a manager after navigating this promotion against the odds but the Spanish coach is facing a much bigger challenge now in the campaign ahead with a massively weakened and undersized squad. Sandefjord have parted company with a number of key players, from veterans Erik Mjelde and Havard Storbaek, to explosive winger Mohamed Ofkir and influential midfielder Tito. Yet the biggest loss is certainly that of 19-goal striker Pontus Engblom, heading back to his native Sweden. The club is experiencing some financial issues and the lack of any major new signings ahead of the new season is pretty alarming. Erik Brenden joined from relegated Lillestrøm but every other new addition is a youngster with little pedigree. That leaves Cifuentes with a skeleton squad and a shortage of players of the required quality in a number of areas just ahead of the season start. The loss of solid defender Makes Hoibraten just before the start of the campaign is another major blow and things are looking rather grim and hapless for the small club. Yet the manager has been upbeat and determined in tough situations before and he will be determined to give it the best shot and at least give some talented youngsters from the academy a chance to blossom.