Eddie Howe reveals key to Newcastle United longevity – and explains Bournemouth exit

Newcastle United’s head coach left the club in the summer of 2020 following its relegation from the Premier League.

Howe had taken to the club from the fourth tier of English football to the top flight for the first time in its history in his two remarkable spells as manager.

The 45-year-old was asked if he would have stayed at Bournemouth had the club not been relegated at the end of a season which was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In management, you do not have an infinite amount of time in one job,” United’s head coach. “There is a time probably where people have probably had enough of you to be honest. I’m talking about the players.

"So you have to do one of two things, either consistently change the players – or the manager has to leave.

"I always think there’s a shelf life for manager, and I had probably reached that point where, for the football club, I needed to move, really.

"I definitely felt going into that last season, it was totally different, unique due to Covid, and the ending of that season was so disappointing.

"I still do not believe we, Bournemouth, would have been relegated if there had not been Covid, because the supporters made such a difference. Those supporters can be so powerful in such a tight-knit ground.”

Howe was asked if managers can still build “dynasties” at clubs – just like he did at Bournemouth, the club he had served as a player.

And Howe suggested ahead of this evening’s game against Bournemouth that his longevity will depend on the players.

"I didn't really plan to build a dynasty at Bournemouth – it just happened,” said Howe. “We were successful enough to stay in the job – and you just roll from season to season with new objectives, new goals.

"I wouldn't change the journey for a second. If I look back to the start point of that second spell, I had no idea what was going to happen, what would unfold – and how long I was going to be there.

"I'm sort of in the same position now. I'm attacking every day, trying to be successful, trying to build something, and how long we can build that for will be in the players' hands, really, in terms of the results we get."

Howe took a break from football before returning to management with Newcastle in November 2021.

"The break helped me, without a shadow of a doubt, transition to a new club,” said Howe.

“So often you see managers go from club to club very quickly. That's not a criticism – that's fine. I did the same when leaving for Burnley.

"Probably, just from my experience, a much better way of transitioning to a new club is to have a break, to collect your thoughts.

"You enter the club in a clear state of mind with a clear objective without baggage from what happened two or three days ago at your former club.

"That was the perfect way for me to enter Newcastle, feeling totally committed to the club, totally attached to the aims and goals that we needed to achieve."