Forest Green owner Dale Vince has claimed Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony contacted Robbie Savage before Peterborough formally requested permission to speak to the then-Forest Green manager.

Vince made the allegation during a live interview on talkSPORT with Jim White and Simon Jordan, saying he had recently learned new intel about the circumstances surrounding Savage’s departure for Peterborough.

Vince acknowledged that he had previously been mistaken about the sequence of events, before setting out his understanding of the alleged contact.

Vince claimed: “Actually, I was wrong to think that Posh approached our manager after we refused permission. And I was wrong to think Darragh (MacAnthony) may not know what’s happening at his own club because I’ve recently found out that the first approach to Robbie came before we were asked for permission and it was made by Darragh himself.”

Vince said the alleged contact took place during a phone call approximately a week before Peterborough formally approached Forest Green.

Vince claimed: “It was a phone call to our manager after our game against Boston, would have been about a week before the first approach from Posh to us to ask for permission.

“So, before asking for permission, the approach had already been made.”

Asked whether he considered the alleged approach to have been above board, Vince replied: “No.”

He said the club learned about the alleged contact from Savage himself.

“Our manager, our ex-manager, Robbie, told the club.”

Vince said he believed the information supported his concerns about how the situation had been handled.

“I think it just substantiates what I’ve been saying. There wasn’t a legal approach. It kind of undermines what Darragh’s been saying that there wasn’t, and my thought, you know, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. He either doesn’t know what’s happening or he’s being untruthful. I think what we see now is he’s being untruthful.”

MacAnthony has previously denied that Peterborough made an improper approach, maintaining that the process to appoint a new manager was conducted correctly.

Vince did not confirm whether he intended to make a formal complaint or take further action.

Asked about his next steps, he told talkSPORT: “Honestly, Jim, I don’t know. I’ve seen that Darragh on his podcast is saying, ‘Let’s calm things down’ and stuff like that.

“I dislike dishonesty, whenever I bump into it in my life. So, you know, there are ways to sort this out and put it behind us.

“But at the minute, I’m really busy. I’m about off to go do some filming with Countryfile and a hundred other things. But I just popped on your show to, well, join the discussion.”

Vince also explained why he had decided to speak publicly about the matter.

“This kind of thing does happen. It is wrong. It is against the rules. It’s kind of morally wrong as well.

“When it happens, I just call it out. It’s as simple as that because I think it would be better for football if it didn’t happen. And I can’t do much more than just call it out when I see it, and I’m content with that.”

The interview also covered Forest Green’s plans following Savage’s departure.

Vince confirmed the club was prepared to continue with Jonathan Gould, Yan Klukowski and Josh Bowen while assessing its options, rather than immediately appointing a permanent replacement.

“We’re content at the moment to see how we go for a period of time.

“They’re the three guys themselves are very capable. They’ve got a wide range of experience between them and they understand the club and the players really well. I mean, they were doing all the coaching anyway, so there’s no change in that respect.

“The big changes are in terms of who leads the team on a matchday, who leads from the technical area. I mean, that’s one area you could see that there’s a big change and possibly a deficiency.

“We’ve talked through it with them, but at the moment, we’re content to not rock the boat any further because, of course, if we bring in a new manager now, the first thing new managers often want to do is change the staff, change the players, that kind of stuff.

“We think we’ve got a good team of players and coaches that understand them and can get the best out of them, and we’re just going to see how that goes for a while and not rush to get a new manager.

“That’s the actual fact of it.”