No Warnock worries
EDDIE HOWE will one day become England manager – Asmir Begovic is sure of it.
The Bosnia goalkeeper says the man who convinced him to join the Cherries has all the tools to take control of the national side in the future.
And he claims that Howe, 39, has the chance to one day be ranked alongside the legendary Jose Mourinho.
Begovic signed for Howe’s Bournemouth last month for £10million when he finally realised he would always be back-up to Stamford Bridge No.1 Thibaut Courtois.
The 6ft 6ins stopper (below) has witnessed the way Howe works and believes the young Englishman can reach the international stage.
He said: “Why not? He has the ability and talent to do it.
“He is building up his experience going through the ranks and I definitely see him becoming one of the best managers in the world.
“He is a little bit calmer than Antonio Conte but you wouldn’t want to cross him.
“He has a steely side to him – h o p e f u l l y, though, I won’t test his patience too much.
“Jose was the best boss I worked under and it was a pity it was just for a short time.
“I have played with a lot of managers but I would put him top of the pile. Eddie has similar qualities. People ask, ‘If England fail at the World Cup next year could you see him as a future manager?’
“Losing him would leave a major hole to fill.
“I say it is important for the club to build bases and be as strong as possible because managers and players leave.
“I can’t predict what will happen with Eddie but we need to work hard while he is here and take this club to the highest level possible.
“He’s going to be linked with the other jobs and he’s been linked with England before and that’s part and parcel of doing a good job.”
Begovic, 30, has made the brave move to leave the champions but he insists Mourinho was not to blame for Chelsea’s dramatic fall from grace two seasons ago. He also refused to stick the knife into Mourinho about his spat with Eva Carneiro – the f o r mer club doctor.
Begovic said: “That situation was unfortunate but it didn’t affect our daily work as players. “The simple fact is that we couldn’t get the results. “It is a results business and when things are not going your way i t c reates a negative atmosphere.”
There is certainly no sign of a bad atmosphere at Dean Court and Begovic cannot wait to get involved in Howe’s south coast project.
He said: “He wants to push this club on to the next level.
“With a new stadium and a new training ground coming this club can achieve big, big things.
“So that’s the sort of project that really enticed me to come here and be part of it.”
Another man who was happy to become par t o f t h e project this summer was Jermain Defoe – who has played with Begovic before.
They were together at Portsmouth and the ex- Stoke stopper said: “He was there a year and was i n his prime.
“If the ball fell to him you knew he would score. I’ve seen him in training and he’s still got it. He’s a freak of nature.” CARDIFF CITY boss Neil Warnock says he has “total trust” in the club’s chairman after being reassured that the owners are not looking to sell up.
There have been rumours the Bluebirds were among the teams owner Vincent Tan was going to sell.
The Malaysian owner has always said he would listen to offers for the club he took over in 2010. But Warnock said: “I only had to speak to one person and that’s chairman Mehmet Dalman – and he wouldn’t tell me any lies.
“I trust him and the sale speculation was put to bed within half an hour.
“Since I’ve been here chief executive Ken Choo and Vincent have been supportive and I’ve got the players in that I want.”