Not only are fans relishing the prospect of another highly-respected name in British football coming to lead their team after the prior success of Brendan Rodgers, they’re also excited by the assumption that Howe will bring a certain standard on the club’s training field, something, rightly or wrongly, they believe was absent under Neil Lennon’s regime.
Supporters can get an idea of what could be coming to Celtic through watching a video from Bournemouth’s pre-season training in 2019. In the footage, Howe is mic’d up as he leads a training session, showing how he communicates with players and gets his ideas across.
There isn’t any ranting and raving. Instead there’s a lot of encouragement and constructive criticism as the squad are put through their training drills.
Howe is a Bournemouth club legend. He tallied up 300 appearances as a player in two spells at the south coast side, between 1995 and 2002 and then from 2004 to 2007.
He then went on to become the most successful manager in their history, guiding them away from relegation out of the football league and into League One. He would leave for a brief stay at Burnley before returning to finish the job at Dean Court, leading them to the Championship and then completing the incredible rise with promotion to the Premier League in 2015. For this he was voted manager of the decade at the Football League awards.
He left in 2020 after the club’s relegation from the top flight.