John Yems says he was betrayed by Bournemouth

Now he aims to dump the Cherries out of the FA Cup and claim another major scalp.

Covid-hit Reds got to the Vitality Stadium in a delayed fourth-round tie tonight.

It is a significant fixture for Yems and his assistant Lee Bradbury, both of whom worked for Bournemouth.

Yems says people betrayed him and left him suffering from depression following his acrimonious departure in 2018.

Reds delivered the shock of this season’s competition by beating Leeds 3-0 earlier this month.

Although downing Marcelo Bielsa and his Premier League players ranks as the greatest result in Yems’ professional career, being drawn with the Cherries represents a personal mission for the 61-year-old.

Yems joined Bournemouth in 2012 when they were in League One and worked closely with former manager Eddie Howe and current boss Jason Tindall as the club made a fairytale climb into the top flight.

He was in charge of scouting and recruitment and helped Bournemouth make millions on players like Matt Ritchie and Callum Wilson, who were both subsequently sold to Newcastle.

But his time in Dorset came to an abrupt end three years ago, with Bournemouth claiming they could not afford to keep his £45,000-a-year role as football operations manager.

Yems received a statutory pay-off of less than £4,000 plus holiday pay, and admits his exit impacted on his mental health before he was appointed Crawley boss in December 2019.

He said: “It’s a funny thing, depression.

“It just creeps up on you, when the phone stops.

“It’s the trust issue, being let down by people that you trust.

“You can stand many things in this world, but unfortunately you do have to trust people - and when people dump on you from a great height, it’s very hard to take.

“It was betrayal. You go from the first division into the Premier League and then you get made redundant for no reason.

“It goes to show that certain people there are very unscrupulous and very untrustworthy.”

Yems says he has no problem with Tindall, who will be in the opposite dugout after Howe left when Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League last summer.

His issues are with individuals whom he describes as “not football people”.

He added: “It’s a different club to the one I left.

“It was more enjoyable when I was there and we were building.

“The Bournemouth I left when Eddie was there - and I’ve spoken to Eddie since - is not the same.

“People running the club are not football people.

“They were playing off the back of people who have the football success but money becomes involved and then it’s their success.

“It’s such a shame because it was a friendly football club.

“It’s nice to go back there. There will be a few people glad to see the back of me as I can’t wait to see the back of them.”

Crawley’s preparations have been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak which has ruled five unnamed players out of the trip to the Vitality Stadium.

Tindall will have Philip Billing and Rodrigo Riquelme back for the tie.

The duo were absent for the loss at Derby last Tuesday with hamstring injuries but have returned to training and are in contention for the midweek clash.

The Cherries made ten changes for the 4-1 win against Oldham in the previous round and are set to rotate their squad once again.

Jack Wilshere, who recently joined on a deal until the end of the season, will hope to make his first start in his second spell at the club.