SWAPPING the Premier League for non-league is a notable change for anybody, no matter what their role is in football.

But for Jimmy Glass, swapping Cherries for eighth-tier Wimborne Town came at the perfect time.

A goalkeeper that made over a century of appearances for Cherries, Glass returned to Vitality Stadium and performed a variety of roles as the club rose up to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

“I'd been back at Bournemouth for about eight years, since the first season in the Premier League,” Glass begins to explain to the Daily Echo.

“I was hosting a hospitality lounge and then I went in the next season for Ed (then manager Eddie Howe) as his player liaison and basically in charge of most logistics of the team.

“Off the pitch I hosted the lounge for many years and enjoyed my time at Bournemouth immensely, working with Eddie and JT and Fletch, obviously Neill Blake and Richard Hughes.

“It was a fantastic journey to be on with the club.”

Cherries’ relegation at the end of the 2019-20 saw Howe’s departure, and although Glass remained as player liaison during the last three seasons, he now also feels it is time to move on to pastures anew.

“Ultimately, Ed left, because that's what happens at the end of an era,” he continues.

“And I think for me, I was looking for a new challenge.

“The team were going off in a different direction as well.

“You've got a new owner, which is fantastic, Bill Foley and the commercial team and the new people at the club.

“It's all really exciting for Bournemouth, but for me, I think it was time for a new challenge and I've been looking for a little while at what I could do.”

Bill Foley’s takeover at Cherries has sparked excitement, but Wimborne are another Dorset club undergoing positive change.

They moved to the aptly named New Cuthbury near the end of 2020, the brand-new stadium boasting a clubhouse and training facilities befitting of a club multiple tiers above the Magpies.

Further positivity has been generated by the takeover completed in November 2021, the new board injecting funds into the side with hopes of returning to the Southern Premier and one day, the National South.

Glass is well aware of this.

“I started to hear about Wimborne Town and the new ground, because I've got friends that are part of the board here and they've been telling me for a couple of years to come down, have a look,” he restarts.

“It's fantastic. It's a great opportunity for the club to move forward.

So probably about a month ago, I sat down with one of the directors and we were discussing something completely different.

“Then he had to tell me about Wimborne Town and what the board wanted for the club, now they've got this fantastic facility.

“After that long conversation with him, of me seeing how excited he was and how committed he was and from my point of view, I said what I'd done for Bournemouth and how I'd learned a lot by the success that Bournemouth have had, certainly over the past ten years, and the ups and downs as well.

“At the end of it, essentially, he said, ‘look, how do you feel about coming on board to help Wimborne on their journey to move forward?’

“And that's why I'm here. And then we looked at different ways and different roles.

“Personally, for me, it ticks a lot of boxes for me because I was looking for a new challenge. And I've had various roles in football over the years in lots of different ways, and it's just an exciting opportunity.

“I went in to see the chief exec (Neill Blake) at Bournemouth and I thanked him for the last eight years.

“Very amicable, left with his blessing.”

After his playing career, Glass has been a jack of all trades. A career as a taxi driver after retirement proceeded his multiple roles at Cherries.

From running a hospitality lounge to helping arrange community visits for players amongst other things, Glass has experience in may different jobs – but what is his role at Wimborne?

“Essentially, I'm general manager of Wimborne Town Football Club,” he starts.

“At the moment, I'm just looking at things and speaking to people and watching how things happen because it's obviously a very different club than the one I've just left.

“But ultimately, football is all the same at whatever level you're playing, it's the same dynamics.

“So at the moment I'm looking at the club, at how it runs, at all the different opportunities available to the club in terms of making revenue, the fantastic facilities here at Wimborne, with a full size, floodlit 3G pitch.

“Revenue can be made off of that. Can we make that better?

“And in essence, just come in and look at the club and say, ‘right, how can we improve the club with a view to growing, with a view to getting out of this league and getting up into the one above?’

“I think, realistically speaking, within non-league football, the sky's the limit for Wimborne Town.

“I would say the whole goal of football club is to improve and grow and have success, which a club that's been around since 1878 with some fantastic people over the years, some good history with the new ground and new opportunities.

“It's a fantastic challenge for me. And I'm really pleased to be here.”