Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe will manage England, says Steve McClaren
Friday 6 November 2015 23:59, UK
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren has tipped Eddie Howe to follow in his footsteps and one day manage England.
The pair go head-to-head at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday and McClaren has been hugely impressed by what the 37-year-old Howe has already achieved in his managerial career.
McLaren said: "How he has got Bournemouth up, he has done a fantastic job, and he has got the potential to be a future England manager if he keeps going the way he is.
"He plays the game in the right way, the right style, the right temperament, the right emotional control. He has found a home at Bournemouth and he has got them playing very well. He's young, he's got years ahead of him."
The two men found themselves in direct competition last season, then in the Sky Bet Championship, as Howe guided the Cherries to promotion and the title as McClaren's Derby slipped off the pace and ultimately finished eighth.
The Rams collected four points from their two meetings, but their manager was left in little doubt as to the qualities of his opposite number.
McClaren said: "What he's built at Bournemouth, to get that club into the Premier League, is a great achievement. Yes, it's potential, but there are plenty of names bandied about, so I'll bandy his name about."
For all that, McClaren will attempt to dump Howe into relegation trouble by securing the victory on the south coast which would see the Magpies leapfrog their hosts.
He has been boosted by keeper Rob Elliot's return to training after a thigh injury with 18-year-old Freddie Woodman standing by for a senior debut for the club, but desperately needs a victory after a controversial derby defeat at Sunderland and a goalkeeping masterclass from Stoke's Jack Butland last weekend.
McClaren said: "Sometimes you just have to believe, and we do believe. We think we're going in the right direction now and we have to continue that confidence and that belief.
"But it's about getting results. Eventually you need results to keep that belief going, and we hope that will come."
