Jose Mourinho's impact on Eddie Howe & what Newcastle boss 'genuinely believes'

EDDIE Howe believes he’ll be up against a Premier League all-time great when Jose Mourinho is stood in the opposition dugout at St James’ Park tonight.

Howe had not yet embarked on his managerial career when Mourinho first took charge of Chelsea in 2004, but Newcastle’s now boss looked on with immense admiration and described the Portuguese coach as a “visionary”.

More than two decades have now passed, and Mourinho might well have managed in England for the last time after another spell at Chelsea and stints in charge of Manchester United and Tottenham, but Howe still has the utmost of respect for tonight’s visiting boss.

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“He’s someone that I hugely admire having come up against him before in the Premier League and I think as a younger coach, really admired the teams that he built at Chelsea in particular.

“Definitely a visionary, someone that broke the mould really in terms of how you manage and different ways to do things.

“And then following his success through different clubs, different leagues, incredible really what he what he’s achieved in his career.

“I think it’s always a great opportunity for any club to go up against one of his his teams and yeah, looking forward to the challenge immensely and I think it’s going to be a great game.”

Asked whether he thinks Mourinho is one of the Premier League all-time greats, Howe said: “I think you have to. Look what he did. I’m not just saying that because we are playing them. I genuinely believe it, the impact he made initially was incredible really.

“He had an aura around him and his teams. His teams were always very difficult to beat. I remember watching his teams in my very early days as a head coach, when I was looking to mould the way I wanted to play and what I was thinking about coaching wise, he had a big impact.”

Howe has only beaten Mourinho once when Newcastle’s boss was in charge of Bournemouth in December, 2015.

Looking back on that success, Howe said: “Chelsea were one of the strongest teams in the league and there were some great wins for us that at the time, being Bournemouth manager, gave us the belief that we could compete in the Premier League.

“Being a newly-promoted team, you need every shot of confidence you can get. I look back fondly on those games.

“But obviously this game is very different. It’s a different kind of experience. We now – I said this before the previous Champions League game – we’re desperate to qualify in the competition.

“We know the importance of our home games, so after the disappointment of Barcelona, we’re looking forward to this one.”

Jose Mourinho’s impact on Eddie Howe & what Newcastle boss ‘genuinely believes’

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