Eddie can cash in on his injury woes

ONE thing’s for certain – Eddie Howe won’t be faced with a transfer embargo at Newcastle unlike his first months in charge of Bournemouth.

It’s another relegation scrap but with the promise of plenty of Saudi Arabian cash – a far cry from his introduction into management as a raw 31-year-old with the Cherries in dire financial straits and seemingly doomed to drop into the non-league.

But Kevin Bond (below) – who as Bournemouth manager gave Howe his first coaching opportunity after injury had wrecked a promising playing career – believes the fledgling boss thrived on the adversity.

Bond said: “There was a transfer embargo initially and he couldn’t sign any players.

“So there were no worries about who he should bring in.

“When I was the manager it was always a case of the club finding a way of paying for new players. I was keen to make some changes and try to galvanise the place but I went too far and brought too many in.

“But for Eddie, not being able to bring in any new signings, it helped him create a much stronger mentality at the club.”

Howe unashamedly admits that he owes Bond everything for giving him a coaching opportunity.

Bond said: “He was really struggling with his knee which was very difficult for him because he wasn’t the sort of guy to just turn up and take the money.

“He was talking about packing the game in as he didn’t know how much longer he could carry on.

“I would have been really surprised if he had turned around and told me he didn’t want to help out on the coaching side.

“It was clearly the path he wanted to go down.”