³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Forest Green Rovers have appointed England Under-16s boss Rob Edwards as their new head coach.

The 38-year-old former Wales defender, who had also been assisting the England Under-20s, replaces Mark Cooper, who was sacked by the club in April.

Caretaker boss Jimmy Ball led them to a top-seven finish in League Two but they lost to Newport in the play-offs.

Edwards left his job as Wolves Under-23s coach to join the national team set-up in October 2019.

The former Aston Villa, Wolves and Blackpool centre-back "This is a club that feels really different from others - and actually does things another way.

"My conversations with the chairman were incredibly positive, and showed we'll get the time and support we need to go on a winning journey."

Forest Green said they received more than 100 applications for the vacancy and chairman Dale Vince said the appointment of Edwards and assistant Richie Kyle, who has been coaching with the Canada women's national team, was "the start of a new era".

"We wanted to move away from the recruitment merry-go-round of been-there-and-done-it league managers to focus on coaches at the cutting edge of the game," Vince added.

"Rob and Richie Kyle bring an understanding and openness to all aspects of coaching - like sports science and analytics."