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Eddie Howe has revealed that being unable to convince his backroom staff was why he turned Celtic down.
In May 2021, the Toon boss was the No.1 candidate to succeed Neil Lennon at Parkhead. Celtic had just surrendered the Scottish Premiership to Rangers, who went the entire season unbeaten under Steven Gerrard.
Howe was primed as the man to lead the revolution after a year-long sabbatical from football. The 47-year-old took a break following an emotional Bournemouth exit, with trips to various clubs enhancing his sporting education.
With Howe looking for work, the Scottish giants approached him with an enticing offer to reclaim the title from their inter-city rivals. Speaking to Simon Jordan on the Up Front podcast, the Newcastle manager opened up about the stalled move, insisting he failed to persuade his team - now working alongside him at St James’ Park - to head north of the border.
“During the period I had out, I had a few job offers but I said I’m not considering anything for a year,” Howe said. “That year had passed, and Celtic came up. I was immediately attracted to the job.
“I thought ‘Wow, what an opportunity, what a football club’. They were great people that I met, unbelievable. There was no downside for me. But I had to get my staff together. For me, if I go into a football club, and I could have gone in on my own and worked with the staff that are there, but I felt, for my first job back, that would’ve been big.
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“I needed to go in at my strongest. My strongest would’ve been with my team. That’s Jason Tindall, Stephen Purches, Simon Weatherstone and Dan Hodges. These are important people to me.
“I’d made my decision, I was keen to go. Jason had left Bournemouth, but I couldn’t get them together. They wouldn’t all agree. It’s an important dynamic and I didn’t feel it was right for me to take that opportunity. At that moment, it would’ve been wrong for Celtic as well. So I declined the offer.”
Howe also admitted he would not have taken the Newcastle job without the same support around him. He added: “No, I don’t think I could have done. I could’ve taken that job on my own but I don’t think we would’ve had the results we’ve had. That would’ve been a very different situation.”
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