Mee praises Howe for Cherries rise

Defender Ben Mee believes former boss Eddie Howe has done 'fantastically well' at Bournemouth, but the Clarets stand in skipper is determined to put a spanner in the works.
Burnley's Ben Mee

Photographer Mick Walker/CameraSport

The Premier League - Stoke City v Burnley - Saturday 3rd December 2016 - bet365 Stadium - Stoke

World Copyright © 2016 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Ben Mee

Photographer Mick Walker/CameraSport

The Premier League - Stoke City v Burnley - Saturday 3rd December 2016 - bet365 Stadium - Stoke

World Copyright © 2016 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Ben Mee Photographer Mick Walker/CameraSport The Premier League - Stoke City v Burnley - Saturday 3rd December 2016 - bet365 Stadium - Stoke World Copyright © 2016 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Howe was responsible for bringing the one-time England under 21 international to Turf Moor in the summer of 2011, initially on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

Mee then made his move permanent - after making 35 appearances for the Clarets in all competitions that term - only for Howe to part company with the club two months later.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The centre back has since gone on to make another 160 appearances for Burnley during which time Howe, who was selected Manager of the Decade at the Football League Awards last year, has engineered the Cherries’ ascent through the pyramid.

“He’s done fantastically well since he’s gone back there,” said Mee. “All credit to him. He’s a good manager and a nice person, it will be nice to see him again. We’ll be doing as much as we can to win the game though.”

Under Howe, Bournemouth climbed from League One to the Premier League in three seasons and they’ve since established themselves among England’s elite clubs.

Having culminated the last campaign in 16th spot they now sit 10th in the top flight following a sensational comeback against Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And that’s a model that Mee is hoping Sean Dyche’s side can emulate. “Yeah, they are similar I guess in some ways and that’s what this club is looking to do - to establish themselves in the Premier League. That’s something we want to do for sure.

“Every game is a big game, especially ones against teams that are going to be around us.

“It’s going to be a big game for us and we’ll take encouragement from that second half (against Stoke City) I’m sure.

“We’ll put on a performance at the Turf that will hopefully win us the game.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mee says that the pair have had minimal interaction since his departure to the South Coast and he admitted that there probably won’t be anything more than ‘pleasantries’ when they are reunited.

Asked if they stayed in touch, Mee said: “Not so much. You see them when you play them, you might say ‘hi’ but you don’t get a lot of time to speak to them.

“I’ll say ‘hi’ and ask him how he’s doing. I’m sure our manager will speak to him more than me!”