Forest Green have managed to survive by the skin of their teeth and will be playing in the Conference again next season. After being saved by the Salisbury demotion last summer, Rovers were looking to avoid any relegation drama this season and the opening few weeks of the campaign were quite decent as Dave Hockaday's men were in the upper regions of the table. However, the squad quickly lost its momentum after that and a poor losing run of form have resulted in the fans calling for Hockaday's head. He struggled to find his best 11 but a vital win against York at the end of October bought him some time. Still, the team was not playing well and were just above the drop zone despite an improvement in results. It was more of the same after the turn of the year as the players struggled for consistency, especially on the road where they could not get even a point. The pressure again increased in February when they lost a few games and were winless in seven outings. However, Hockaday managed to galvanise the group and the defence was made more solid and reliable in the coming weeks. A few clean sheets and vital wins over Histon and Altrincham seemed to have put them above the drop zone for the rest of the season. However, Rovers lost to Kettering in the weekend before last and it do-or-die against Tamworth on the final day of the season. A draw was good enough for Rovers but they lost 2:1. Yet, Southport and Altrincham's defeats saved them and everyone associated with the club has a huge sigh of relief as Forest Green managed to survive despite being mediocre and sometimes downright poor throughout the campaign. Hockaday will need a lot of reinforcements in the summer and with the owner providing funds for more extensive rebuilding, Forest Green should really improve next season.
