Robbie Savage found a cunning way to circumvent the rules by making four substitutions within the first minute of Forest Green Rovers' recent match.

The environmentally friendly side were competing in a National League Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers academy side at the time. Savage, who took the reins at the non-league side in July, made seven alterations to his starting XI from Saturday's 1-1 stalemate with fellow promotion hopefuls Scunthorpe United.

The ex-Premier League star, who played for the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Derby County, would have completely changed his team if not for the competition's stringent regulations. For National League Cup matches, all clubs except those from the Premier League must include at least four players who started the previous league game in their line-up.

For Forest Green, these were forward Tom Knowles, winger Kyle McAllister, left-back Neil Kengni and centre-back Abraham Kanu. However, just one minute after the match began, Savage exploited a loophole and substituted all four simultaneously, introducing four squad players in their stead.

In another Tuesday fixture, Rochdale made two substitutions after just one minute in their National League Cup home tie against Blackburn Rovers. Both Rochdale and Forest Green emerged victorious on their home turf.

Savage's squad maintained their unbeaten start to the season, with goals from Jose Marquez, Isaac Moore and Harry Cardwell enough to overcome Wolves' academy team. They currently sit second in the National League table, having triumphed in six of their opening nine matches.

They are just one goal behind league leaders Rochdale. Forest Green narrowly avoided their first defeat of the season on Saturday, thanks to a 98th-minute equaliser from James Balagizi in their home match against Scunthorpe.

The club, based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, has been in the fifth tier for two years now. Last season, under former manager Steve Cotterill, Forest Green reached the play-offs but fell at the semi-final hurdle in their bid for an immediate return to the EFL.

Savage and his team are vying with Rochdale and third-placed Carlisle United for the single automatic promotion spot, with more clubs likely to join the fray as the season unfolds. It was recently reported that Rovers were interested in Peterborough midfielder Chris Conn-Clarke, who, according to Mirror Football, is also on the radar of Carlisle and York City.

However, this week Savage dismissed rumours of Forest Green's interest in the former Altrincham player, stating he's content with his current squad. He said: "We have no interest in that player.

"Our squad's really good. Yes, he's a good player. We've seen stuff on social media this week. I've been linked with EFL clubs - again.

"The first I knew of it was on there and the first I knew about the player from Peterborough was on social media. But I can categorically state that neither are true."

Ex-Premier League star exploits loophole by making four subs just ONE minute into match - Daily Star