Forest Green boss Mark Cooper has issued an apology to the fans after his side crashed 4-0 at home to Newport County.

Cooper watched his side collapse in an abject display which puts Rovers back into the relegation zone after Port Vale beat Cheltenham Town to climb above the Nailsworth strugglers.

Cooper said: "The players cannot hide and all we can do is apologise to the supporters for that showing.

"Some of the defending was horrific, individual mistakes that you cannot coach. We gifted them all four goals and we have to do better than that."

Cooper insisted the 97th minute goal at Notts County may have taken a mental strain on his side.

"Conceding that 97th minute goal at Notts County  appeared to have a bigger effect on the players than I thought it might. We'd played well without picking up the points we should have done in the last three games and that can sometimes take a mental strain."