Forest Green relegated from League One after loss to Barnsley

Since Duncan Ferguson's first win as manager on 26 March, Forest Green have lost four in a row

Forest Green Rovers have been relegated back to League Two after Saturday's 5-1 defeat by high-flying Barnsley.

They have won only six league matches all season, with just one of those coming since Everton legend Duncan Ferguson was appointed as manager in January.

Barnsley went in front inside the opening 10 minutes when Slobodan Tedic headed Luca Connell's corner past goalkeeper Ross Doohan, before Adam Phillips doubled the advantage with a half-volley from the edge of the box.

James Norwood then nodded in to make it 3-0 before the break as the Tykes took complete control.

Phillips scored his second goal after half-time, slotting home after his initial shot was saved, while Reece Brown did at least manage a late consolation for the hosts.

Devante Cole added further gloss to the scoreline for Barnsley in the final minute when he converted Jordan Williams' cross.

The result keeps fourth-placed Barnsley's automatic promotion hopes alive, with the Tykes four points behind Ipswich Town in second - and, crucially, with a home game against the Tractor Boys scheduled for 25 April.

Rovers are 12 points adrift at the foot of the table.

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Rovers slip to rare relegation

Forest Green owner Dale Vince had hoped League One would simply be a stepping stone to eventually reaching the Championship - instead, their stay in League One has proved short lived.

As one of the smallest clubs in the division survival was always going to be tough, yet the seeds of Rovers' fate were arguably sown last summer.

Head coach Rob Edwards left for Watford, key players such as Ebou Adams, Kane Wilson and Nicky Cadden all departed and director of football Richard Hughes also had one foot out of the door, eventually leaving in September.

Ian Burchnall was brought in to take charge, a coach cut from the same cloth as Edwards - young, up and coming and forward-thinking. But the club's transfer policy lacked strategy and seven of the 10 players brought in made fewer than 12 appearances.

Burchnall was eventually let go at the end of January after only five wins in 28 games, with Vince admitting they had not done enough to support the inexperienced boss.

Ferguson, another first-time coach at this level, was surprisingly appointed with the nigh-on impossible job of turning things around.

Remarkably, though, this is Forest Green's first relegation since the 1954-55 season and only their second since they were founded in 1889 - putting them on a par with the likes of Arsenal and Everton.

The challenge for Forest Green now will be to learn valuable lessons from this season and lay a more stable foundation, so that if or when they move back up to League One they will be in a much better position to actually stay there.