Former Celtic target Eddie Howe explains his absence

After almost everything went wrong for Neil Lennon and Celtic last season, the club found themselves in search of a new manager in the summer. And for months, rumours involving Eddie Howe did the rounds as it seemed that he was the man destined to take the Hoops into a new era. As we all know by now, things did not quite go that way though.

While the interest was no secret, a move to Parkhead did not materialise for Howe. Ultimately, Celtic named Ange Postecoglou, a man with very little experience in European football at that point of time, as their new manager.

It is safe to say that things have worked out quite well for Celtic since then, as Postecoglou appears to be a brilliant appointment, who has done a brilliant job with the cards that he has been dealt and could very well be the man to take the club back to the top of Scottish football. On the other hand, Howe finds himself back in management as well, and was recently announced as the Newcastle United manager.

As reported by Football Scotland, Howe revealed why he stayed out of football for a longer than most would have thought when he departed Bournemouth and why he ultimately decided to join Newcastle United:

"“The club is huge so the size of the club, the history of the club, obviously the new ambitious plans and the new owners.“I know some of the players in the squad and I just thought it was a perfect fit for me.“Yes I had lots of other options but I wanted to take my time and really utilise my time away from the game. I feel refreshed, energised and ready to start work.“I said I was going to take a year out. That was internally, not publicly. I said I’m going to take a year, I’m not going to take a job. It didn’t matter what job came up in that year, I felt I needed to reset, recharge and re-educate myself.“I had to take myself away from that thought of taking a job and commit to my family for a period of time, then commit to coming back better.“Even in work, that’s been my focus; self improvement and doing that on a day-to-day basis whilst in work.“But I think it’s much clearer when you’re out of work, out of the emotions that football management can bring.”"

Howe appeared close to Celtic at one point of time but the move did not happen

Ultimately, Celtic will most probably be satisfied with how things turned out. It is very possible that Howe would not have transformed the team as quickly as Postecoglou has.

Celtic find themselves in a good spot right now with things looking up for the future. On the other hand, it has worked out very well for Howe as well, who finds himself in the middle of one of the most exciting projects in all of football.

Things might not have played out ideally back then, but ultimately, it has all fallen into place quite nicely for both Celtic and Howe.