Swindon Town right-back Ben Purkiss appointed chairman of the PFA

Swindon Town defender Ben Purkiss has been appointed chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association.

Purkiss signed for Swindon on a free transfer from Port Vale in the summer and has been part of the management committee of the PFA for five years.

"I'm proud [and] honoured," he told the PFA's website.

"You look back through the list of chairs and there haven't been that many. I'm really looking forward to doing my best for players up and down the country.

"I've been part of the management committee for five years and supported Ritchie [Humphreys, former PFA chairman], so I'm not coming in blind. I understand the scale of the role and I'm not daunted by it."

Purkiss listed the PFA working together with professionals as his top priority and also wants to help the topical issue of footballers developing dementia in later life, which was the subject of an Alan Shearer documentary for the BBC.

"We need to be a union that supports anyone with any issues arising out of their employment. That's issue number one," Purkiss said.

"We need to work towards helping players deal with concerns such as their working conditions. We're launching a study alongside the FA around dementia, for example."

Purkiss also spoke in-depth about the challenges that face players in 2017.

" It's a challenging environment. You're in the glare of the public eye, depending on what level you play at. At the top end you have all the pressures with social media, people almost monitoring your life 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And you have that pressure to perform on a Saturday. One mistake and you're judged. One issue and you will be judged and it will snowball.

"Lower down you get judged by your manager, your chairman and coaches. If you let people down your next contract might not be forthcoming.

"You have the pressure to protect your livelihood. Where other people invest in their career and progress, a footballer goes back to square one and begins the process everyone else has done since leaving school. It's a privileged profession but it comes with its downside.

"[The PFA] crucial. It's fundamental. In the short-term, it's the players at the lower end of the pyramid who see the benefit and the need. But we're also looking to make sure the players at the top aren't exploited.

"People are looking for every opportunity to market those players, see them as commodities and abuse their power. We are there as that layer of support. There is no bias, no vested interest – we're completely independent.

"The union is there for the sole purpose of protecting the player."

Purkiss' new role will not stop him from playing football for Swindon.