Popular former AFC Bournemouth defender and captain Ian Cox has returned to the club after joining the Community Sports Trust.

Cox, who skippered the Cherries at Wembley in the final of the Auto Windscreens Shield in 1998, has been appointed National Citizen Service programme coordinator.

The NCS is a voluntary personal and social development project for 15 to 17-year-olds in England and Northern Ireland of which AFC Bournemouth is a partner organisation.

Cox held a similar position at Gillingham, another of his former clubs, where he was also first-team coach until the end of last season.

Now 48, Cox made 207 appearances for the Cherries after signing from Crystal Palace in 1995.

He struck up one of the best central defensive partnerships in the club’s recent history with Eddie Howe, who was just 19 when they were paired together for the first time early in 1997/98.

Cox, who left Cherries for Burnley in February 2000, went on to represent Trinidad & Tobago at the 2006 World Cup finals.

Click here to listen to our interview with Ian Cox.

And click here to read a feature with Ian Cox, published on our website in April.