WHILE last summer signalled the start of a new era at Cherries, one man very much remained as part of the furniture at Vitality Stadium.

Following the arrival of Scott Parker as head coach last summer, the former Fulham boss drafted in his own backroom team in Matt Wells, Alastair Harris, Rob Burch, Charlie Moore and Jonathan Hill.

That saw the departures of long-serving quartet Steve Hard, Simon Weatherstone, Stephen Purches and Neil Moss.

However, Cherries legend Fletcher remained in his role as first-team coach.

The 49-year-old, who first arrived on the south coast from Hartlepool in 1992, has now been in that role for around seven years, having made more than 800 appearances for the club as a player and serving in various other positions, including assistant manager and scout.

Parker's first season in charge ended in jubilation as Cherries clinched promotion back to the Premier League earlier this month.

And while Fletcher has seen plenty of highs during his near 30-year association with the club, this season will be one to live long in the memory.

"It’s one of the biggest achievements again in the club’s history," Fletcher told the Daily Echo, discussing the club's latest promotion.

"I’ve been here for a few over the years. It’s 30 years in July that I first signed for the club. I never thought I’d see days like this.

"Even getting into the Championship when we did in 2012-13, I never thought I’d see that day, never mind promotions to the Premier League.

"So for everyone involved and anyone who has witnessed it, me and Gareth Stewart (goalkeeper coach) were walking around the pitch, he’s a good friend of mine and has been over the years, and you’re looking at the supporters and he said to me ‘these fans in 2009 when we were going to go out of existence, we were one game from going out and probably liquidation, to experience what they’ve experienced now, it’s just phenomenal'.

"You’ve sometimes got to pinch yourselves. Not just staff, not just the players, but the supporters as well. It’s magnificent for the town and for this football club."

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He added: "When you’re a player it’s different, you can’t explain unless you’ve been a player.

"I obviously never got a promotion to the Premier League, but I got promoted with the League One team to the Championship and that was amazing.

"But that was right at the end of my career, in fact it was my last season and I was nearly 41. So promotions are brilliant.

"It’s lovely when you’re a staff member, a coach, from that perspective because all the hard work when you come in every morning at half seven, eight o’clock and you go home some days 12 hours later and it’s six days a week and you never stop really, even when you’re at home.

"The hours you put in and the worry because obviously when you’re a player and you cross that white line you can do something about it, when you’re a coach you can’t, you’re relying on the players, so it’s a different feeling.

"But when we went up and got promoted in 2015 from the Championship to the Premier League, I was in recruitment then. It was only in that season I actually came across to the coaching side so it was amazing, but to be right in among it is just as amazing this time.

"Yes, it’s with the new group with Scott and that and it is a little bit different to when it was with Ed (Howe) and all my team, but it’s fabulous that these boys have come in with one objective from the day we came in. The first day, Scotty laid down what his intentions were, what his expectations were, what his standards were and what he wanted us to achieve.

"We never wavered from that. Every meeting he would revert back to it and he’s been relentless.

"Him and his staff have come in and done an incredible job to re-galvanise that team with the disappointment of going out in the play-off semi-final the season before. It’s a wondrous job he’s done.

"I had a good chat with him and shed a couple of tears and said to him he’s been magnificent, not only for this football club, but for himself. He’s a top manager and he deserves all the plaudits he’s going to get and his team."