SO there will be no reunion with Forest Green Rovers for Newport County AFC next season after the Gloucestershire side were beaten at Wembley by Grimsby Town.

In terms of miles on the road next season the Mariners victory in the National League play-off final on Sunday was a blow for County fans.

Blundell Park is a mammoth 476-mile round trip compared to just under 100 miles to Nailsworth and back.

The return of Cheltenham Town (56 miles away) is a bonus but, whatever happens in the League Two play-offs, the Exiles will be clocking up a lot more miles next season.

The relatively short trips to Bristol Rovers (29 miles), Oxford United (109) and Northampton Town (130) have been replaced by long treks to Doncaster Rovers (188), Colchester United (212) and Blackpool (213), as well as Crewe Alexandra (144).

This season Warren Feeney’s men travelled 7,318 miles in total with an average round trip 318 miles.

If, as seems most likely, Plymouth Argyle are promoted via the League Two play-offs that will increase to around 7,830 next season with an average round trip of 340.4 miles.

If AFC Wimbledon clinch promotion it will be 7,814 miles and an average round trip of 339.7 miles.

And even the best case scenario of Accrington Stanley going up will see County travelling 7,696 miles with an average round trip of 334.6 miles.

As someone who is partial to a nice veggie burger it was also a personal blow for me as Forest Green went down 3-1 at Wembley.

But the result should be a big help to County manager Warren Feeney’s recruitment drive over the next few weeks.

Rovers winning promotion to the Football League for the first time would have meant increased competition for several potential targets.

Bankrolled by green energy industrialist Dale Vince, the village side already punch well above their weight in terms of attracting talent.

But, crucially, County still have the advantage of League Two status and hopefully that is a factor that still matters more than a thicker wage packet for some footballers.