STEVE LEFT SORE AS HIS ROVERS PAY THE PENALTY

STEVE Cotterill admitted he hadn’t entertained the prospect of Forest Green's abrupt end to the season and wants another crack at delivering an EFL return.

- Andy Mitchell

Appointed in January 2024, Cotterill could not prevent the little club on the hill being relegated to the National League.

The odds are usually stacked against sides that drop out of League Two but an experienced side hit the ground running and ended up third, the joint-best finish of any relegated side since Cheltenham Town went straight back up as champions in 2016.

Just five out of the last 18 relegated teams have made the play-offs in their first season with Grimsby Town the only one of those to head straight back into the 92 but that was of little consolation on a raw night at the New Lawn.

“Maybe in a week or two I'll look back on it as a good season but it could have been great,” said Cotterill.

“To be brutally honest, I wasn’t preparing for our season to end. I genuinely thought we were going to win.