Former Burnley boss Eddie Howe speaks about Turf departure ahead of appointment at Newcastle

Former Burnley boss Eddie Howe has reiterated his reasons for leaving Turf Moor just over nine years ago, as he prepares to take over at Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe, right, and assistant Jason TindallEddie Howe, right, and assistant Jason Tindall
Eddie Howe, right, and assistant Jason Tindall

Howe left Bournemouth in January 2011 to take over at Burnley, before returning to Dean Court in October the following year.

Howe started and ended his playing career with the Cherries, having spells at nearby Portsmouth and Swindon Town, and spent 11 years as Bournemouth boss, leading the club from the bottom of League 2, to enjoy five seasons in the Premier League, either side of his time in East Lancashire.

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That has led sections of the Newcastle support to voice their concerns about his suitability for working away from the south coast, but, in an interview with the Coaches View, Howe explained of his time at Burnley, and the passing of his mother Anne in March 2012, which hit him hard: "I'd turned down a lot of jobs and I think I'd got to the point where I think everyone on the outside was questioning my motivation and I probably got caught in that trap of wanting to please the outside world.

"That's not to say things hadn't changed Bournemouth a little bit. it had become a little bit more difficult to manage certain things so I think the timing was probably right on a few levels.

"I felt Burnley was, when you look at the location, far enough for me to fully commit to the job. That was one of my main worries and everyone was saying 'Go to London because you can come back and it's not to far, you can keep your life here'.

"For me that was never an option. I think I learnt from management that I was going to be 24/7 and I needed to commit.

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"I needed to move my family to a new area, so, Burnley attracted me and that side. Also the fact there was a real challenge on there -they'd fallen out of the Premier League and the brief was to get them back into the Premier League.

"An ambitious club, a very stable club with really good people and I think that was another swaying point when I met the team - the directors there just seemed really good people and I think they were the final thing that made me decide to go there."

Howe added: "My family were settled off the pitch I had no issues at all. As I said, the people there treated me superbly and there were no issues on that side.

"Results hadn't been exactly what I wanted but I knew when I went there it wasn't going to be a quick turn around. I knew it would be a struggle. I had to try and rebuild the team.

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"Burnley were ready for that and that's why I was elected because I was young and they wanted to build a younger team.

"We did a lot of work and felt that we were on the right track but it never quite took off and we never quite got the consistency. We never got the run of results we wanted but ultimately, the reason why I decided to leave was because of the death of my mum.

"That was the change that brought me back home."