Elfsborg dropped down one place from their 2015 finish of fourth after a disappointing season which promised more than it delivered. The Boras club would have hoped that no European responsibilities would have allowed them to push towards a European finish this season but they lacked consistency throughout. Their longest run of unbeaten games was seven, which came at the end of the season as Magnus Haglund’s side finally started to gel together as a team. Before that though good performances were often not built on and their away form was simply not strong enough as they won just four times on the road. Head coach Magnus Haglund will again need to try and keep hold of his current squad for next season as well as adding a few further players to turn them back into a contender for the top three. Their recruitment this season was quite hit and miss with players such as Thomas Bendiksen and Andres Randrup failing to find their feet this term. However, Joakim Nilsson and Jorgen Horn as well as Issam Jebali and Daniel Gustavsson both added mid way through the season, all settled in quickly and helped to add to a side which badly needed a boost in defence and on the wings. When added to some of the longer serving players such as Adam Lunqvist and Viktor Prodell the squad had what it took to compete with the sides above them as they showed. Though Prodell ended as top scorer, it was central midfielder Viktor Claesson who was the stand out player. He stepped into the void left by Arber Zeneli and Simon Hedlund to be their main playmaker and also earned a call up into the Swedish national team. He may well not be at the club next season and the problem of losing their best players is something which has really hurt Elfsborg in recent years. If Haglund can keep his side together then they have a chance of pushing into the top three next season, but at the moment the quality is not quite there.
