Forest Green Rovers expressed they are "disappointed" with Rob Edwards and Watford after confirming their head coach was leaving the club.

Edwards led Forest Green to the League Two title this season, winning 23 games as they finished above Exeter City on goal difference.

However, Edwards will not be in charge of Rovers in League One next term, after it was confirmed he is departing.

He is widely expected to replace Roy Hodgson at Watford, whose short spell at Vicarage Road will come to an end at the culmination of the Premier League season.

Watford's relegation back to the Championship was confirmed last week after a 1-0 defeat to Hodgson's former side Crystal Palace. 

A statement issued on Forest Green's official website read: "FGR confirms the departure of head coach Rob Edwards. Rob was a key part of the team that gained promotion to League One this season.

"We're disappointed that our support, loyalty and honesty towards Rob has been repaid in this way – with negotiations taking place behind our backs. We had no contact from Watford, from whom we might expect less, but in any event this kind of behaviour gives football a bad name.

"We thank Rob for all his work at FGR – forgive him the manner of his departure and wish him well."

Joey Barton had cited Real Madrid's remarkable Champions League fightback against Manchester City as an example to Bristol Rovers before Saturday's promotion decider, but even he might have struggled to imagine the "footballing miracle" that unfolded.

Former City and Newcastle United midfielder Barton led Rovers into their final match of the League Two season outside the automatic promotion places on goal difference and so needing to better Northampton Town's result by five goals.

Still, boss Barton's focus was on what Rovers could achieve against already-relegated Scunthorpe United, rather than worrying about Northampton's result at Barrow.

"If we win 10-0, we're up, aren't we? It is in our hands in that way," he said, adding: "It's very rare you do someone by 10, but who knows?"

As it was, seven would do – tying a club record.

At half-time, Rovers were 2-0 up, but Northampton also led by two, 3-1 in front and coasting towards League One.

Having scored four in the second half of the previous week's sensational 4-3 win at Rochdale, Barton's side this time needed five in the same period.

But the one-time England international was not daunted by the challenge, having pointed to Madrid's turnaround that secured a Champions League final place.

"Madrid thought they were out of the Champions League, then they scored two goals in stoppage time," he had said. "It only takes a second to score a goal."

Rovers certainly did not lack ambition in pursuit of their unlikely aim, attempting 34 shots – the second-most by a team in a single League Two game this season.

Elliot Anderson, the Newcastle loanee dubbed 'the Geordie Maradona' following a comparison from Barton to the late Argentina legend, contributed to 15 of those efforts, taking eight shots himself and creating seven chances.

Following his signing, winger Anderson – who only ended up at Rovers after a Championship loan collapsed – led League Two in shot involvements (133) and ranked second for goal involvements (13).

It was no surprise then that the teenager, having supplied two assists, scored the decisive seventh goal in a 7-0 win while Northampton failed to add to their lead. Even Madrid would surely have been impressed.

"Incredible," Rovers owner Wael al-Qadi told BBC Sport. "It was fantastic to have experienced such a moment.

"The plan was to go for it. I never doubted this bunch of players. They went for it and look what happened. It's a footballing miracle."

Both the owner and Barton had taken to the pitch to plead with Rovers fans to return to the stands and allow the match to finish after Anderson's header.

"I can't describe it," Barton added. "It's probably something when I'm in my rocking chair, and the fact I've headed a lot of balls out at the near post area has caught up with me, I'll remember this favourably with Weetabix running down my chin.

"I'll be thinking of the scenes at the Mem on this day."

Bristol Rovers remarkably clinched promotion from League Two despite needing to make up five goals on Northampton Town on the final day of the season.

Rovers, managed by former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton, headed into Saturday's matches fourth in the table, behind third-placed Northampton – in the final automatic promotion place – on goal difference.

Northampton appeared to have done enough to secure a spot in League One as they won 3-1 at Barrow, only for events at the Memorial Stadium to halt their celebrations.

That scoreline at Barrow – unchanged from the 45th minute onwards – meant Rovers needed to win 7-0 against already-relegated Scunthorpe United to pip Northampton on goals scored.

Leading 2-0 at half-time, Aaron Collins and Antony Evans each scored twice against a much-changed Scunthorpe side before Elliot Anderson – on loan from Newcastle – added to his two assists with the decisive seventh five minutes from time.

That goal – the 19-year-old's seventh of a sensational loan spell, to go with six assists – prompted a pitch invasion that brought the game to a standstill.

As Northampton got word of the change in circumstances and chased a fourth goal, succeeding only in having goalkeeper Liam Roberts sent off, Barton and Rovers owner Wael al-Qadi pleaded with fans to stay off the pitch, having been warned the match could be abandoned.

Eventually, play resumed and Rovers held on for their joint-record margin of victory and a scarcely believable promotion to the third tier.

Oldham Athletic have become the first team to play in the Premier League to be relegated from the English Football League.

The Latics were part of the first Premier League season in 1992-93, where they avoided relegation on goal difference, before going down to the second tier in 1993-94.

Oldham had been a part of the Football League for 115 years, but defeat to Salford City – owned by former Manchester United players including Gary Neville, David Beckham and Paul Scholes – on Saturday sealed their relegation from League Two, and they will play in the National League next season.

The game was not without incident, with Oldham fans invading the pitch at Boundary Park with 14 minutes to go to protest against the club's ownership, which saw the match apparently abandoned with the score 2-1 to Salford.

However, the EFL confirmed later on Saturday that the final minutes of the game were played behind closed doors and the score remained unchanged.

"This afternoon's Sky Bet League Two fixture between Oldham Athletic and Salford City has been concluded behind closed doors," the statement posted to the EFL Communications Twitter account read.

"The remaining 14 minutes played resulted in a final scoreline of Oldham Athletic 1 Salford City 2 and as a result Oldham Athletic have been relegated from League Two.

"Despite the earlier announcement of the abandonment of the fixture, after discussions with both clubs, match officials, and stadium security it was agreed the match could be concluded today.

"The decision was taken in order to maintain the integrity of the competition given the importance of the fixture at both ends of the League Two table."

Newport County goalkeeper Tom King has officially set a new world record for the longest goal ever scored.

In Tuesday's 1-1 League Two draw with Cheltenham Town, King launched the ball from his own six-yard box and watched it carry on the wind before bouncing over opposite number Joshua Griffiths and into the net.

King's goal was scored from a distance of 96.01 metres, making it the longest ever measured in a competitive football match, according to Guinness World Records.

The previous record was set by another keeper, Asmir Begovic for Stoke City, who scored from 91.9m on November 2, 2013 against Southampton.

Signed from Millwall in 2019, King has made 34 appearances in League Two, although only three of those have come this year.

Interestingly, in his time at Newport, he places in the bottom 15 for all keepers in the division when it comes to passing accuracy, having found a team-mate with just 36 per cent of his attempts.

Still, with a shooting accuracy of 100 per cent, who are we to criticise his aim?