To the naked eye it would appear that Ostersunds have regressed since the 2017 season, when they finished in the top five and produced some memorable moments in the Europa League. And there's no doubt that this season was one of readressing the balance after Graham Potter opted to leave them midway through the season for Swansea City. It's churlish to say that Potter would have led them to a top five finish, because truth be told they started the season very indifferently.
Winning just the one game in their first five fixtures was not the start Ostersunds would have hoped for, and Potter possibly jumped ship in the summer realising that he had taken the club as far has he could do anyway. Ian Burchnall was recruited and he steered the ship impeccably, clearly having a point to prove after being held responsible for Viking's relegation in the Norwegian top flight last year.
The thing that hampered Ostersunds in the latter stages of the season was the real lack of consistency. Brilliant unbeaten runs were always curtailed not by just one solitary defeat but usually a string of them. In the end they finished four points behind fourth placed Hammarby, a deficit they could easily have bridged had there been more consistency in the results.
But they will dust themselves down and continue to try and progress in the top flight. They are still a very young Allsvenskan outfit, and their budget is certainly more limited than the big hitters in the division. But under Burchnall the mentality instilled under fellow countryman Graham Potter might well live on, and that can only be a good thing.
