HAILING from Mile End, deep in London’s East End, Jason Tindall could have been forgiven for feeling like a jellied eel out of water surrounded by the rolling hills of Lancashire.

Having rejected overtures from both Charlton, his boyhood club, and Crystal Palace on Tuesday, January 11 2011, Tindall and boss Eddie Howe found themselves heading up the M6 to Burnley less than a week later, as one of the most successful periods in Cherries’ recent history was brought to a close.

For Tindall, wife Claudine and children Sienna and Levi, the beaches of Dorset were replaced by the often grey skies and misty rain of Hale, Cheshire.

“It opens your eyes to a different way of life,” admitted the 34-year-old in an interview with the Echo this week.

“And one thing I would say is that I met some fantastic people in Burnley and where we lived. They made us feel so welcome and I have nothing but good things to say about our experiences up there and the people we met along the way.

“We lived in a nice area and the school was fantastic. Now the family has to do it all again back in Bournemouth, but I guess they are coming back home so that makes it easier for them.

“My little boy is fantastic and he is glued to me whenever I am at home and my little girl has picked up a few northern words from school and brought them home!

“But my kids mean everything to me and coming back here is great for them.

“It’s another chapter in their lives as much as it is in mine.

“When you are in football you have to deal with what is put in front of you. You can’t guarantee where you are going to be from one year to the next, so, in that sense, the only difference we found was probably the climate! It was a lot colder up there and seemed to rain a lot!

“That affects your mood from day to day, but I don’t feel I have changed as a person because of living up there.

“But my wife is a Bournemouth girl and perhaps it was harder for her moving away from home. She did, though, and she did fantastically in terms of building a life for herself up there.

“She made a lot of friends and my kids settled into a fantastic school. They made huge strides and, although it was different, so many good things have come from it.”

Less than two years since upping sticks, Tindall and Howe returned on Saturday to a rapturous welcome, with Dean Court a far cry from the dissent and disdain that followed the defeat to Walsall two weeks ago.

And while Tindall admitted the pair’s second coming felt “like we’d never been away”, the club that reopened its doors to arguably the most successful management duo in its history is a very different place to the one they left behind in 2011.

Speaking following their first training session yesterday, Tindall added: “A lot has changed since we have been away and certainly for the better, but it was a good first day and an opportunity to meet the lads.

“There are a lot of new players here now and it gave us a good chance to have a chat with the majority of them, get to know them and them us.

“We want to get things sorted as quickly as possible but it’s the first couple of days and our decisions will be made over the coming weeks.

“We have a big squad which we have to look at and make decisions on and certainly over the next couple of weeks we will be doing that. We’ll be looking at everyone individually and making decisions on what we see and then we’ll take it from there.

“It’s a similar situation in some respects as the club was in the bottom four when Eddie and I took over before, so we do have to hit the ground running and that’s what we intend to do. From what everyone has been saying, our appointment seemed to give everyone at lift at the weekend and the crowd was fantastic. You could see the difference they made.

“Our intention is to pick up results quickly because there is a good squad here that has probably under-achieved. That is something we want to put right as quickly as possible.

“We’re 100 per cent focused on what we want to achieve here now. You won’t find two more ambitious people than myself and Ed and our relationship is just what it always has been. We’re really tight.

“We talk about everything and we have a great working relationship. I think we’ve become stronger and better for our experiences.”

  • Meanwhile, Howe last night confirmed coach Dennis Rofe had left the club.

Rofe had been in charge for Cherries' past two games following Paul Groves's departure as manager.

Howe told the Echo: "There is no hard feelings with Dennis. But myself and Jason work better as a duo."