Football Season Guide

Aalesund stormed right back into the top-flight after a single campaign in the second division, getting over a poor first third of the season to storm into the top two on the back of 23 games without a loss. The squad always seemed to have too much quality to miss out on promotion and the aim now is not to repeat the mistakes from two seasons ago, when Aalesund were dreadful from the word go as a newly-promoted side and never stood a chance of surviving. Lars Arne Nielsen is certainly a manager of pedigree and experience and will be determined to build a strong team that is prepared not to just play on the front foot, like they do in the second division, when they face top teams like Molde and Bodø/Glimt. There is good depth in the squad and the coach will feel that the addition of some experienced players like Petar Golubovic, Sten Grytebust and Dario Canadjija will give the team more mettle and prepare them for what is to come in the next seven months. Keeping hold of star forward players Sigurd Haugen, who got 21 goals last season, and Simen Nordli , is a massive boost for the club and it remains to be seen if they can fare better at the top-flight level compared to two seasons ago. Therefore, the ingredients are there for Aalesund to have a pretty stable campaign and be part of the mid-table group, far from the relegation strugglers. Yet this is very much a case of making a good start and overcoming mental barriers and Nielsen will focus on that in the early weeks of the season.