Bristol Rovers have announced they are withdrawing their reserve team from the Pointins Holiday League.

The Club's decision was one of a number made as a result of the impending move to Cheltenham Town, as the reserves would not have been able to play their fixtures at Whaddon Road.

Concerns were also expressed about the inconsistencies of the league opposition throughout the season.

Director of football Lennie Lawrence said: "One week we would be playing a very strong team full of first team players, and then the next week it would be a team of kids.

"We feel that we can better serve our players by arranging matches as and when we need them. We will also be sending a lot of our youngsters out on loan to gain valuable match experience with other clubs. We hope this will build competition within the squad."

The club regret to announce the departure of Kevin Hodges who has now been released from the club. This decision was in part influenced by Kevin's reluctance to relocate to Bristol. Lennie Lawrence and Paul Trollope will now take control of the reserve team as part of their management duties.

Vice chairman Nick Higgs said: "We will still have the same out goings in regards to the reserve team, and aim to still play regular fixtures."

Lennie added: "The club is fully committed to making a sustained push for promotion this season while we remain at the Memorial Stadium. The signing of Jeff Hughes for more than £100,000 and the expected signing of another striker in the near future are indicators of our ambition."