FITTINGLY for a man whose specialty is wingers on toast, Simon Francis has revealed an ambition to tackle the food business.

The Cherries full-back has served up countless fine displays since arriving at Dean Court in 2011, regularly delivering crosses on a plate for the club’s goal-hungry strikers.

And Francis, who turned 30 in February, admitted that a love of food and drink had fuelled an appetite to open a café or restaurant following the end of his playing career.

However, the former Southend defender insisted that any venture would come alongside a continued involvement in football, with a number of career paths a possibility.

“I can’t see myself not staying in football in some way, whether that’s management, coaching, scouting or the agent side of things,” said Francis.

“I’ve done my Level Two coaching badge but I’ve got to get some things signed before I can move on to UEFA B and then the UEFA A Licence, which allows you to coach at the highest level.

“One of the things I take stick for is that I like cooking and eating at restaurants. I have taken a real interest in that over the past few years.

“My dream, if money were no object, would be to own a restaurant or café. I like coffee and I like food so something along those lines would be excellent. I’d love to have that alongside a job within football.

“It probably comes from going out with the lads or with the missus. We do that quite a bit so you tend to know what you like to eat and where you like to eat.

“When I am in cafés I always have ideas about what I would do and what I would cook if I had a similar place.”

Francis, who is based in Parkstone, admits that he and fiancée Ashley’s outings have decreased of late following the arrival of second child Jude in December, a brother for four-year-old Halle.

However, he does have his favourite haunts.

“When I first came to Bournemouth there wasn’t a great selection of places but I think it’s improved a lot over the past couple of years,” said Francis.

“I enjoy going to Jenkins & Sons and The Cruel Sea in Penn Hill. For snacks and drinks there are quite a few Bennett’s bakeries dotted around and I quite like the coffee in South Coast Roast in town.

“It’s not often that me and the missus go out for food at the moment because we find it hard to get a babysitter but when we do, we like to try something new.”

Francis and Ashley have been engaged for several years and while the full-back admits the big day is not imminent, he says that both parties remain relaxed.

He continued: “We’ve been talking about getting married. It’s slowed down a little bit since the baby came because we haven’t had too much time.

“We had looked at 2016 but you have to book a year in advance at some places so we might not make that.

“We never got engaged to immediately get married anyway – it was just something we wanted to do in the near future and I’m sure we will.”

So beyond his playing days, does Francis see his long-term future in Dorset?

“I’d love to stay at Bournemouth for the rest of my career and there’s no hiding that me and my family love living here,” he said.

“Ash is from Essex so there’s always a chance we could move back up there but I’m not sure what I’ll fall into after football.”