A season of two halves for Hannover who emerged as one of the surprise packages in the first half of the campaign, only to see their form fade away after the winter break, and they just about managed to stay clear of the bottom three.
Hannover enjoyed an excellent return to the Bundesliga, going unbeaten in their opening six league games and managing to win three times in the process. Their form at one time saw them climb as high as fourth in the table a couple of months into the campaign, raising hopes of European football next season.
Hannover though quickly hit a big slump in form, winning just three more times until the winter break, and though results improved somewhat when the season resumed, they quickly slumped back to losing ways and slowly slid towards the relegation zone.
Breitenreiter had looked to boost his attacking options as Hannover spent big on Jonathas and Ihlas Bebou in the summer, but the former spent large portions of the campaign on the treatment table; while Bebou was a regular in the line-up, there were only some glimpses of quality shown by the winger.
Niclas Fullkrug chipped in with crucial goals and headed the scoring charts with 14 strikes, but it was Salif Sane who was key to Hannover's form in the opening weeks of the season.
A crucial win over Freiburg helped Hannover secure valuable points and remain clear of the drop zone, though it was the lack of consistency shown by teams below them that spared Andre Breitenreiter's side from being involved in a relegation battle in the final weeks.
Even a meagre return of seven points from final 11 games was enough to secure their survival in the Bundesliga for another season.
