Bournemouth's Eddie Howe reflects on 500 games in management
Howe picks out favourite matches of his Bournemouth tenure
Friday 19 April 2019 10:13, UK
Eddie Howe will take charge of his 500th game in management when Bournemouth host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Bournemouth boss was handed a cake by Sky Sports' Mark McAdam to celebrate the milestone and admitted that the last 10 years - taking the club from the bottom of League Two to ninth in the Premier League - has felt like a "blur".
Howe was asked which games have stood out - to which his picked the 3-0 win over Bolton in 2015 which all-but secured promotion to the top-flight for the first time in the club's history - as well as a 2-1 victory over Grimsby in 2009 which saw the Cherries avoid relegation from the Football League, in the same season they had a -17 point deduction.
"I only just found out it was 500!" Howe said after receiving his cake. "Where has the time gone? It doesn't feel like that many.
"It feels a bit of a blur, to be honest - these last 10 years. It's gone so quickly and we've crammed a lot into that time. It's been hugely enjoyable - a very successful period for us. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to manage this club.
"There's a few (games that stand out). The Bolton game always sticks out - because taking Bournemouth into the Premier League was something we never thought was possible.
"Also the Grimsby game - it will always be part of our history."
Bournemouth host relegated Fulham at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, following their 5-0 demolition of Brighton last time out, while Scott Parker's team go into the match with confidence after a 2-0 win over Everton.
"We only have to look at Fulham's last game," Howe added. "They were good against Everton. Scott Parker has had an impact and you can see that they have improved under him. They have some very good players.
"The target is to win the next game. We'll then see what happens from there. We need to see more of the same (from last week) and end the season strongly.
"We needed that result last weekend. Everything came together and it was a very good afternoon for us."
