Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has a lot of time for “real gentleman” Roy Hodgson as he prepares to take on the experienced Crystal Palace boss in Monday night’s Premier League clash.
Howe, 40, has overseen the Cherries’ rise through the divisions to become an established top-flight club, albeit not without continued hard work.
At 71, Hodgson has just about seen and done it all, both in domestic and international football.
It was the former England boss who answered the Eagles’ call last season when rock bottom of the Premier League, before going on to comfortably secure their top-flight status once again.
Howe believes the manner in which Hodgson has always approached his craft is a lesson for all aspiring coaches.
“I have always found Roy to be a real gentleman,” he said at a press conference.
“I remember him bringing his Fulham team here a number of years ago for a pre-season friendly.
“It was very good of him to do that, Fulham were in the Premier League at the time and we were down the leagues. I found him to be really knowledgeable, a really good guy.
“Through the years when we have met on various occasions, he had been the same.
“How he dealt with the England situation and that experience, I have nothing but respect for him.
“To see him doing so well at Palace last season was brilliant, because when he took over they were in real trouble, I thought he deserved a lot of credit for keeping them up.”
Wilfried Zaha has again proved a key man for the Eagles, with three goals already this season.
Howe, though, warned Palace are anything other than a one-man team – and believes his own players are capable of giving their visitors plenty to occupy them on Monday night.
“Zaha is a player that we need to be aware of, but they’ve also got excellent midfielders with a lot of experience, so we’ve got to manage it well,” he said.
“Yes, he is an outstanding player and did well against us in the two games last year, we found him difficult to deal with. From our prospective that is something we will look to improve.
“There are a lot of areas that they manage very well, but of course we have good players the other way.
“We know if we are at the top of our game we are a match for anyone.”
