It was a bitter end to the year for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2015, as the team’s late rally for the playoffs came to a halting stop on the last day of the regular season.

The side started hot, suffered a slump in the middle, and rounded back into form in the fall under new head coach and former player Stuart Campbell as the team’s ownership made ambitious front office changes.

The Rowdies have continued with that ambition over the last five months, adding several high quality players to their roster in hopes of hoisting its second trophy in four years. The team has let go of some of its steady striker options from 2015, opting instead to add dynamic attacking talent from MLS, NASL, and abroad. The Rowdies also re-signed attacker Freddy Adu, who will be looking to make a major impact in his first full season with the club.

“The majority of the players have all had a very good preseason, so I’ve got a tough decision to make,” Campbell told SBI. “It’s going to be very competitive.”

Here’s a closer look at the 2016 Tampa Bay Rowdies:

2016 TAMPA BAY ROWDIES SEASON PREVIEW

2015 FINISH: Overall – 10-11-9, 39 points (5th in Combined Standings); Spring Season – 5-1-4, 19 points (2nd in Spring Season); Fall Season – 5-10-5, 20 points (8th in Fall Season)

HEAD COACH: Stuart Campbell, First Full Season

KEY ACQUISITIONS: Tommy Heinemann, Junior Burgos, Michael Nanchoff, Eric Avila, Frankie Sanfilippo, Kalif Alhassan, Neill Collins

KEY LOSSES: Maicon Santos, Brian Shriver, Corey Hertzog, Marcelo Saragosa

NEWCOMER TO WATCH: Kalif Alhassan. After starting hot with the Portland Timbers in 2011, the 25-year-old Ghanian winger reignited his career last season with Minnesota United, tallying four goals and six assists for the Loons in 2015. Now, Alhassan will take a newfound confidence into a team determined to succeed, and will be surrounded by attackers that can he can feed off of.

PRESSURE IS ON: Tommy Heinemann. Expectations surround the 28-year-old striker that ended his tenure with Ottawa Fury on red-hot form. Heinemann arrives in Tampa Bay with high expectations to fill the shoes of former leading man Georgi Hristov, who has transitioned from a goal scorer into a support striker. The former MLS man is now entering the prime of his career, and he may never have a better chance to succeed than the one in central Florida this season.

OUTLOOK:

Campbell has made one thing clear with his squad changes this offseason: he wants players competing for starting roles. The head coach will start his first full season in charge of the Rowdies with multiple experienced, proven players in all attacking positions.

The Rowdies now have some important squad depth that will be useful down the stretch. Junior Burgos and Eric Avila each provide talent on the flanks alongside familiar faces Kalif Alhassan and Freddy Adu. The center of defense will also be competitive, as Frankie Sanfilippo returns to Tampa Bay after two years in Fort Lauderdale and Neill Collins joins after a long career in England.

“As a cohesive unit, I think we’ve certainly improved from last season,” Campbell told SBI. “We’ve had a good preseason and now we’re looking forward to Saturday night against Indy.”

One major question going in to the 2016 season will be the role to be played by Georgi Hristov. The Bulgarian attacker has contributed to 41 goals for the Rowdies since he came to the club in 2013, but his numbers have slowly faded and Campbell has added young, dynamic playmakers to the team this season.

“I think Georgi in my eyes is just a true attacker,” Campbell told SBI. “He can play up front on his own, but also he’s happy playing as a number ten. Its good to have a player with that versatility.”

Campbell looks likely to employ a 4-2-3-1, using two defensive midfielders to allow his attackers freedom to create. If the pre-season lineups the Rowdies trotted out are any indication, then it will be Juan Guerra and newcomer Nanchoff that will protect the back four.

Overall, the Rowdies look to be all set for a finish in the playoff spots. If the squad can find the form its capable of this season, the Tampa Bay faithful could be set for an exciting 2016 full of highlight reel attacking play.

“I feel that the expectations are first and foremost that we have to make it into the playoffs,” Campbell said, “and then secondly that we have to compete for the championship.”

PROJECTED LINEUP

——————Heinemann——————

–Alhassan——–Hristov———-Adu–

————Guerra——-Nanchoff————

King–Mkandawire–Antonijevic–Sweat

——————–Pickens——————–