Football Season Guide

Akhmat were close to relegation at the end of last season but had just a bit more at the end to overcome Ural in the play-offs to ensure yet another, 15th consecutive season at this level. They were very disappointing for the most part, however, very much a team showing lacking of cohesion and attacking intent and almost always less than a sum of their parts. Now they begin a new chapter with the former Krasnodar coach Aleksandr Storzhuk given the reins. He is quite a proactive and energising coach who can certainly develop some promising young players and will not be afraid to give them a chance. Yet, as always with a compulsive owner as the one that Akhmat have, he will not have much of a leash and knows that a strong start is a must to give him some time to bed in his ideas. The squad feels quite fresh and new-look after brining in some strong players like Brian Mansilla and Maksim Sidorov from Orenburg, Egias Caciantura from Dynamo Makhachkala, and also welcoming back striker Mohamed Konate, who spent the lat two years in Saudi Arabia and was quite a hit before that in Grozny. On paper, this looks like a very respectable and balanced squad that could even mount a push for the top eight in the standings. However, it is hard to be too optimistic about their chances due to recent campaigns of underachievement and it will be up to Storzhuk to prove the doubters wrong.