Carlisle United's League Two rivals Forest Green have appointed former England and Wolves coach Rob Edwards as their new boss.

The play-off semi-finalists have confirmed Edwards will join them next week as he leaves his roles with the Football Association.

Edwards has been working as Under-16s head coach and Under-20s assistant in the national set-up.

But the 38-year-old now heads to the fourth tier as Mark Cooper's replacement at the innocent New Lawn.

Chairman Dale Vince said the appointment of Edwards, who will be assisted by Richie Kyle, marks a departure from the usual "merry-go-round".

He added: "We recently moved away from a manager to the head coach concept - with this recruitment we’re completing that transformation - by bringing in an up-and-coming coaching team.

"We wanted to move away from the recruitment merry-go-round of 'been there and done it' league managers to focus on coaches at the cutting edge of the game.

"Rob and Richie bring an understanding and openness to all aspects of coaching - like sports science and analytics. This is the start of our next era."

Forest Green said Edwards was the pick of more than 100 applicants, after Cooper's sacking and the interim tenure of Jimmy Ball, which saw the Gloucestershire side reach the play-offs before going down to Newport.

They cited his impressive work with Wolves' Under-23s, and also his "footballing philosophy and his vision for the club’s future – with a proven track record in player development, and experience in both domestic and international football."

He worked alongside former Blackpool coach Kyle in the England youth set-up, with the latter most recently working as assistant coach for the Canadian women's team.

Forest Green say they want the duo to replicate their "philosophy" honed as in-possession and out-of-possession coaches with England.

Edwards said on the club website: "This is a club that feels really different from others - and actually does things another way.

"My conversations with the chairman were incredibly positive, and showed we’ll get the time and support we need to go on a winning journey."