“It’s a brave, brave appointment and I wish her all the best.”

That’s former Premier League referee Clive Wilkes talking about Forest Green Rovers’ decision to name Hannah Dingley as their caretaker head coach following the shock departure of Duncan Ferguson yesterday.

Dingley is the first woman to take charge of a senior men’s professional team in England and Wilkes, who was a top referee for almost two decades before hanging up his whistle in 2003, added: “Good luck to her, it will be interesting to see how long interim is, you don’t normally get too many caretaker managers at this time of the season.

“The key will be how the players respond to her, how will they respond to her methods?

“I’m all for the appointment, Forest Green Rovers have proved that they are trailblazers.”

Wilkes, who lives in Corse, remembers refereeing Ferguson back in the day. He remains involved in football – he is president of the North Gloucester League – but he admitted: “It was a bit of a shock to me when he left.”

Dingley, 39, joined Forest Green four years ago and has been the club’s academy manager.

“Hannah was the natural choice to be first-team interim head coach,” said chairman Dale Vince. “It’s perhaps telling for the men’s game that in making this appointment on merit we’ll break new ground.”

Dingley, who has a Uefa Pro Licence, takes charge with immediate effect which means that she will be in the dugout for tonight’s pre-season friendly at Melksham Town.

“I’m really excited for this next step of my career,” said Dingley. “Pre-season has just begun and the full season kicks off very soon. It’s an exciting time in football. I am grateful for the opportunity to step up and to lead such a progressive and forward-thing club.”

One person who will be watching her progress with great interest is Nicky Debonis, who became the first woman to manage a football team in the Cheltenham League when she took charge of Bishop’s Cleeve Development at the start of the 2019/20 season.

She is now manager of Cleevonians, who play in Division Two, and she’s delighted that Forest Green have turned to Dingley.

“It’s nice to see women progressing in the men’s game,” she said. “I think there’s a much smaller gap between the men’s and women’s games than there used to be, it’s a lot easier to have that crossover.

“It’s not all about developing players, it’s also about developing the game and this is definitely a good move.”

And Debonis thinks that Dingley can make a big impact.

“For her to be put in this position in the first place there has to be a strong chance she’ll be a success,” Debonis said. “It’s not about whether you are a man or woman, it’s how good you are that matters and that is exactly how it should be.”