Eddie Howe has admitted that he has 'changed' as a manager to 'suit' Newcastle United after making the most of his time out of the game.
Howe always intended to take at least a year off after leaving Bournemouth following the Cherries' relegation to the Championship in 2020. As well as spending time with his family and doing some television work, the 44-year-old also used the break to reflect and learn.
Howe visited a number of sporting organisations during his sabbatical, including Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, the England national football team, Saracens and Rayo Vallecano, to see how each team operated behind the scenes. Howe also streamlined his way of working and spent a considerable amount of time digitising his training sessions.
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Following 15 months at home, Howe vowed he was 'a better manager than he was' when he first spoke to the press as Newcastle head coach at his unveiling last November. Although there is work to do yet, Howe has since guided the Magpies to 14th place in the table following a remarkable turnaround in results.
Newcastle have played more on the front foot - recording more shots, having more possession and pressing higher up the pitch - but what has been most striking of late is how difficult the black-and-whites have been to play against. Newcastle have become a nastier side off the ball - no other Premier League side have conceded fewer goals in 2022 - and Howe's teams have not always been quite so secure.
"I think, naturally, you evolve and you have to evolve to the club that you're at," Howe told talkSPORT. "To say that I'm the same manager wouldn't necessarily suit Newcastle so I think I have tweaked and changed.
"I don't think you necessarily change your footballing principles or your way of managing, but I do think you have to be mouldable and changeable. Certainly, I'm really enjoying the challenge that this job brings.
"It's a unique football club in many ways and we're really enjoying what we're doing."
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