BOSS Paul Groves made wholesale changes at Dean Court before revealing that Gary Bowles’s potential had helped him avoid the axe.

The untried defender was one of just two players to be kept on as Groves yesterday opted to release a number of Cherries’ out-of-contract players.

Yet to feature for the senior side since joining from Dorchester Town, Bowles was offered a one-year deal after being named alongside Dan Strugnell on the club’s retained list. Shaun Cooper, who was already contracted until summer 2013, was offered an extension.

Groves said: “While we have been around, Gary has applied himself extremely well and he has worked very hard.

“On what we have seen, Gary has shown potential to be in and around it and to get another year.”

Groves chose to discard the remaining players – Warren Cummings, Michael Symes, Mathieu Baudry, Lyle Taylor, Alex Parsons and Paddy Hester – who had been awaiting news on their Cherries futures.

Groves confirmed he felt both club captain Cummings and seasoned striker Symes would struggle to hold down regular first-team places.

Meanwhile, Groves insisted he had offered all of Cherries’ out-of-contract players the chance to meet him face to face.

That came after Cummings said he had been “hurt” to learn of his fate via a brief telephone conversation. The left-back claimed it had been “unprofessional”.

Speaking to the Daily Echo last night, Groves said: “It was our first job this morning to speak to the individual players and give them the opportunity to come in and speak face to face. The majority of them took the option to do it on the phone so we duly spoke to them and made them aware of our decisions.”

On a busy day for the newly-appointment manager, Groves also announced changes to Cherries’ backroom team.

He reported that sports scientist Louis Langdown and former Cherries centre-half Ryan Garry, the club’s reserve team manager and defensive coach, would both be leaving. Physio Steve Hard, sports therapist Dave Gardner and goalkeeping coach Neil Moss will all remain on Groves’s staff list.

Meanwhile, the youth-team graduates offered their first professional contracts – Josh Wakefield, Ryan Case, Alex Moth, Harrison Gilkes, Clive Makoni and Jordan Chiedozie – have all accepted deals.