The 2003 season under new coach Stefan Lundin started well for Örebro, but yet again a poor ending of the season saw the team end up in eighth place. Promising goalkeeper John Alvbåge and Danish veteran Lars Larsen introduced themselves and soon became favourites of the Örebro crowd. The 2004 season became one of the darkest years in club history. First, Örebro had to fight hard to avoid relegation. A heroic effort with five straight wins at the end of the season earned a mid table finishing (seventh, later amended to eighth), but in the end effort proved futile. Economic problems had haunted ÖSK for a period of time as the club faced major deficits. Even after yet another heroic attempt by both supporters and sponsors the club was relegated by "Elitlicensnämnden" (eng: The Elite license board), who ruled that the balance sheet of the club did not comply with the standards of the Swedish Football Association. Örebro SK's appeal failed and the club was forced to play in Superettan.