Bournemouth boss Howe not distracted by managerial links

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe will not waste his time mulling over reports he is on the wanted list of other Premier League clubs.

Arsenal sacked head coach Unai Emery on Friday morning, while Everton boss Marco Silva and West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini are both under the spotlight as their teams struggle at the wrong end of the table.

Howe is the longest serving manager in the Premier League, having guided the south-coast club up into the top flight for the first time.

The 42-year-old remains under contract at the Vitality Stadium until the end of the 2019/2020 season and insists he is fully focused on the job in hand.

“I always say it (managerial speculation) is definitely not distracting for me. I shelter myself from any kind of news that doesn’t influence the team I am preparing to play,” said Howe.

“I always say if I am linked, or my players are linked, with other clubs, then that has to be flattering and viewed as a good thing.

“But I spend no time focusing on those things. All week it has been about preparing for Tottenham.”

Howe sees no reason why he cannot achieve his ambitions with Bournemouth and help the club go on to challenge with the best.

“I think for me to answer that question and say ‘yeah, there is a glass ceiling on it’ would be hugely damaging to my players, to hear me say that, so absolutely not,” he said.

“I always have the mindset and approach to my work, and to life really, that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough and if you truly believe that you can do it, then you can. That has never changed.

“People would have put a glass ceiling on us in the Championship and for us never being able to get to the Premier League – we have done all of those things.

“Now we are fighting to create new memories towards the top of the Premier League.

“We have to believe we can do it and that’s my message to my players.”

Howe added at a press conference: “I learned a long time ago in football to never try to predict the future.

“So many managers lose their jobs when they look safe, so many unpredictable things happen in football, so why waste the energy looking too far ahead?”

Bournemouth head to Tottenham having picked up just one win from the past seven Premier League games following a 2-1 home defeat by Wolves.

Howe knows his side will face another stern test up against a club looking to regroup under new manager Jose Mourinho.

“There has been a clear shift in how he wants his team to play,” the Bournemouth boss said.

“It’s his ability to make his team win, how he has done that at nearly every club he has been at is remarkable.”

Howe added: “This will be a really good challenge and an opportunity to put last week’s results behind us.”

FourFourTwo Staff

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