The waiting is almost over for Forest Green Rovers fans and the dream becomes reality when they play their first ever match in the Football League on Saturday 5th August.

Supporters have been counting down the days since they booked their place in League Two with that never-to-be-forgotten 3-1 play-off final win over Tranmere Rovers at Wembley in mid-May.

The celebrations continued long into the night – and in some cases the days that followed! – and boss Mark Cooper wants everyone to continue enjoying the experience now that they’ve reached the Promised Land.

“It’s really exciting for the club,” said Cooper. “Who’d have thought we’d get this far? When you consider the size of the club it’s fantastic.

“Now that we’re there everybody should enjoy it – the fans, players and everyone connected with the club.”

It will be a lot easier to retain the feelgood factor, of course, if Forest Green make a good showing at the higher level.

The ambitious club are certainly not going into the division just to make up the numbers and there has been much talk about emulating the achievements of Burton Albion, a club that won promotion to the Football League in 2009 and now rubs shoulders with the likes of Leeds United and Aston Villa in the Championship.

“Nothing’s impossible,” said Cooper. “We have a way of doing things at this club and we believe in what we do. We want to be competitive.”

Cooper is from good footballing stock. His dad Terry was a top player for Leeds back in the 70s when they were the best team in the land. He also played 20 times for England so Cooper junior, a decent midfielder himself in the 90s and early noughties, is a football man through and through.

He played for Birmingham City, Fulham and Exeter City among many other clubs and has also managed in the Football League at Peterborough, Swindon Town and Notts County.

When asked how well Forest Green can do, he said: “We can have a really good season. If we could have an assault on the top seven and the play-offs that would be great. Why not?”

That won’t be easy, of course. There are some big, big clubs in League Two this season, including newly relegated Coventry City and Swindon Town. Throw in the derby games against Cheltenham Town and Yeovil Town and it’s not difficult to see why the club’s supporters are so excited by the upcoming campaign.

Cooper is looking forward to locking horns with Swindon and he won’t have long to wait because they meet at The New Lawn on Saturday 23rd September – Rovers make the short trip to Wiltshire on Saturday 13th January. “I had a couple of good seasons as a manager there,” he said. “It’s amazing to think that Coventry, Swindon and Notts County will be coming up to us to play on top of the hill!”

The hill that Forest Green successfully climbed last time out to become a member of the 92 Club had many twists and turns, of course.

“We had our ups and downs last season,” said Cooper, “but the aim was always to get promotion and it’s the reason I dropped out of the Football League.

“We managed to do it and it culminated in that fantastic day at Wembley. That was a great occasion that will live long in the memory.

“I want the players to remember that success so that it can give them inspiration this season.”

It was an extra special day for the Cooper family because Terry was in the crowd to watch his son conduct proceedings from the sidelines while his grandson Charlie pulled the strings in the middle of the park.

These days Terry spends most of his time in Tenerife where he now lives but he still keeps a close eye on English football and it would surprise no one if he was in the crowd for the game against Barnet. If he does make it over he’ll certainly be part of another very special occasion in Forest Green’s 128-year history.