Forest Green Rovers have handed versatile defender Dom Bernard a contract extension following a superb start with the League Two club.

The 22-year-old will remain at the club until the end of the 2020/21 season after putting pen to paper on a new deal this week.

A successful trial in the summer following his release from Birmingham City saw the Gloucester-born defender earn a one-year deal with Forest Green.

He has gone on to make 18 appearances already this season in all competitions, showing his flexibility by playing at right-back, right wing-back and right of a defensive back three in that time and says he is over the moon with the new deal and his start with Forest Green.

“I’m happy for me to be at this great club which is going in the right direction,” he said.

“Obviously I am happy to be involved in the majority of the games, I have adapted well and everything is going well at the moment and long may it continue.

“With the formation we play, we’ve changed it around and I have played right-back and right centre-back as well, it’s ideal and the versatility of having to adapt to those positions is quite comfortable for me.

“We’ve been talking for a week now and I signed my contract in the summer and this is a good extension, something that I wanted to build on but that is off the pitch and I am glad that it is done.”

Bernard started his career with Birmingham City at the age of 12 and came up through the academy.

He came through the system and was knocking on the door of the first team before an Achilles injury saw him sidelined for almost a year.

On his return from injury, he went on loan to National League side Aldershot Town where he made more than 30 appearances.

Bernard joined up with Forest Green ahead of their pre-season training camp in Devon and started the first game of this season, filling in for the injured Liam Shephard, but has become an integral part of Mark Cooper’s system with the head coach claiming that he is a pleasure to work with both on and off the pitch.

Manager Mark Cooper said: “I’ve known Dom for a long time through the Birmingham academy. When his agent asked if he could come and train with us in pre-season, we jumped at that.

“He came in, slotted in seamlessly when he got his opportunity and hasn’t looked back and he deserves tremendous credit.

“He is one that goes unnoticed. He isn’t one that fans, maybe, jump up and down about but he is a manager’s dream because he is seven out of 10 every week, low maintenance and you want as many of them in your squad as you can.”