The first ever Football League clash between two Gloucestershire teams, a bumper crowd and everything to play for – it doesn’t get much better than that.

Saturday 25th November has been ringed in the diaries of Forest Green and Cheltenham Town supporters ever since the fixtures were released back in June.

Now the waiting is almost over and while the fans are excited, the players on both sides are up for tomorrow’s big clash at The New Lawn as well.

Cheltenham’s assistant boss Russell Milton told The Local Answer earlier in the week that there would be no difficulty motivating their players for this game, and it’s a similar story in the Forest Green dressing room.

“The boys are all up for it,” said striker Christian Doidge. “It’s a big game, it’s a local derby and we’re all looking forward to it.”

Four points and four places separate the two clubs in League Two, with the gap significantly smaller between the rivals than it was a month or so ago.

That’s because Mark Cooper’s men have been on a very impressive run of late – notwithstanding the 3-2 defeat at Chesterfield in midweek – a run that pulled them clear of the bottom two.

A win tomorrow – they’ve already beaten Cheltenham in the Checkatrade Trophy this season – would see them breathing down the necks of their nearest rivals who started the day in 16th spot.

Forest Green had won four and drawn one before Tuesday’s surprise reverse against the bottom-of-the-table club, and Doidge admitted there had been a transition period after last season’s promotion via the play-offs.

“Yes, it did take us a while to find our feet,” said Doidge, “but the win at Coventry in the middle of the last month gave us the confidence boost to kick on.

“It wasn’t that we were playing badly, it was just that we weren’t getting that bit of luck that you need.”

The upturn in fortune has obviously delighted Doidge and he is happy, too, that he’s been among the goals this season.

“Yes, I’m loving it at Forest Green,” he said. “I’ve got a few goals. The boys have been creating the chances and it’s certainly easier when we’re winning.”