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Forest Green boss Mark Cooper has taken a dig at Bolton Wanderers chairman Ken Anderson over the treatment of Christian Doidge that left the striker devastated.

Doidge returned to Rovers this month after his proposed permanent transfer to Bolton fell through after the Championship side were placed under a transfer embargo.

The 26-year-old had been on loan with Wanderers since August, with the loan due to made permanent this month for a £1m fee.

Subsequently, Forest Green chairman Dale Vince has been involved in a bitter war of words with Anderson and has vowed to sue Bolton for an alleged breach of contract.

“I feel devastated for him (Doidge) because he is a great lad, and he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that by someone who shouldn’t be in football,” Cooper said.

“As you’d expect, he’s devastated because he’s been given this (Championship football) and left with that (League Two football) through no fault of his own.”

(Image: © Thousand Word Media Ltd)

“It’s sad, but we’ve got to pick him up. I think he knows he’s surrounded by people he can trust and give him good advice, not bad advice.

“He’s got his head around it now, had a day or two off to get his belongings from Bolton, and he looked sharp in training today.”

Cooper also confirmed that Doidge would be part of the squad that travels to Oldham for their League Two game on Saturday.

Before joining Bolton in August, Doidge had made seven appearances for Forest Green this season, scoring four goals.

Fifa rules mean he can't join another club this season but Cooper said they will look after his best interests.

“He’s fully appreciative of what our chairman and our club have done for him,” said Cooper.

“What we have to do now is get back to a place where he ends up going to a proper club that’s run properly by proper people.

“It won’t happen this month. He will be with us until the end of the season. I’m sure he will really enjoy it, he’ll get coached and come out all guns blazing.”

There are no injury concerns for Cooper’s side as they take on an Oldham side who will be in a buoyant mood following their shock FA Cup third round victory of Premier League side, Fulham.