AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth can confirm that assistant manager Stephen Purches, head of goalkeeping Neil Moss, first team coach Simon Weatherstone and head physiotherapist Steve Hard have left the club with immediate effect.
While they may have different roles and responsibilities, Purches, Moss, Weatherstone and Hard have played a big part in the club’s history, both on and off the pitch, and have been integral to its rise through the divisions to spend five years in the Premier League.
Purches and Moss were both long-serving players, involved in some truly memorable moments before becoming key members of the club’s backroom staff.
Weatherstone spent seven-and-a-half years coaching the first team and head physiotherapist Hard joined the club’s medical department in 2006.
With longevity a rare commodity in modern football, the quartet have shown outstanding commitment to AFC Bournemouth and their contributions will never be forgotten. They leave with the best wishes of everyone for the future and will receive a warm welcome back to Vitality Stadium whenever our paths cross.
A versatile performer in defence and midfield, Purches made 320 appearances in all competitions for the club across two spells, and his goal in the 2003 Division Three play-off final victory over Lincoln City at the Millennium Stadium, in particular, will live long in the memory.
Appointed player-coach at Vitality Stadium in the summer of 2013, Purches went on to take charge of the club’s development squad and under-21s and was influential in bringing through the likes of Jack Simpson, Sam Surridge and Gavin Kilkenny before being promoted to first team coach in February 2017.
He helped the Cherries achieve their highest ever finish of ninth place at the end of the 2016/17 season and became assistant manager in August 2020, playing an important role in the club reaching the Championship play-offs last season.
Head of goalkeeping Moss is a lifelong AFC Bournemouth fan, who made his debut in between the sticks as a 17-year-old in 1993.
After 211 appearances in all competitions during two spells, Moss took up a coaching role at his boyhood club in June 2009 having hung up his gloves.
Over the past 12 years has been responsible for nurturing the talents of the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Mark Travers and Shwan Jalal, while also working with experienced international goalkeepers like Asmir Begovic, Artur Boruc and David James.
Weatherstone enjoyed 15 years as a player for the likes of Oxford United, Boston United and Crawley Town, before moving into coaching.
Having been part of Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall’s backroom staff at Burnley, Weatherstone joined the Cherries in January 2014 and has been a popular and important coach at Vitality Stadium ever since.
Head physiotherapist Hard spent six years at Millwall before joining AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2006.
Working for the club during what was a difficult financial period in its history, Hard was a one-man medical department for a time, and was inventive and resourceful to ensure the players received the best medical treatment.
From the depths of the Football League to the half-a-decade in the top flight, Hard was there every step of the way on the club’s remarkable journey.
