Forest Green furious after Watford appoint Rob Edwards as manager

Watford have appointed Rob Edwards as their next manager amid complaints from Forest Green Rovers that negotiations were held “behind our backs”. The League Two champions said the manner of Edwards’s departure had left them disappointed and accused Watford of “deceit”.

Watford claimed in response that Edwards’s contract allowed him to leave Rovers at any point and to discuss job offers, which Forest Green have denied. Watford have met what is understood to be a five-figure release clause even though Forest Green confirmed Edwards’s departure before a deal had been agreed.

Edwards is to take over from Roy Hodgson, who will leave at the end of this season. The selection of the 39-year-old former Wales defender marks a significant change in the type of appointment typically made by Watford’s owners, the Pozzo family. He becomes the club’s ninth permanent manager in five years.

“Rob was a key part of the team that gained promotion to League One this season,” a Forest Green statement said. “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.”

Forest Green’s chairman, Dale Vince, said he had called Edwards on Tuesday evening as speculation mounted. “As soon as he started speaking, I knew that it was real,” Vince told Sky Sports News. “[He told me] that he had been in negotiations [with Watford] and felt it was a great opportunity for him.”

Watford responded in a statement: “Rob had a contractual provision