Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe opens up on 'difficult' Burnley spell following tragic death of his mother

The current Newcastle boss lasted just 19 months in charge at Turf Moor after joining the Clarets in January 2011.

Howe led Burnley to eighth and 13th-place finishes in the Championship before leaving in October 2012 to rejoin Bournemouth, citing personal reasons.

His mother passed away following a short illness seven months earlier and, speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, in partnership with SkyBet, the 46-year-old opened up on how he struggled with the demands of management.

“Burnley was a difficult time,” he admitted.

“It’s been well documented that my Mum died really suddenly just in and around the end of my time at Burnley.

“I have to be honest, from that moment I wasn’t quite the same manager. That knocked me emotionally. That’s why I felt the need to go back to Bournemouth and that was it really.

“I had hoped to be a success at Burnley, I can’t guarantee I would have been but I was working towards that. But from that moment it was difficult for me.

“It was so sudden. When you’re a football manager you’re supposed to be robust enough for anything. The public perception is that the manager can withstand anything.

“You sort of get used to that. It doesn’t matter what is happening in your life, you’ve got to put the same face on, you’ve got to motivate your players. But I felt at that moment I wasn’t able to be the same person.

“The day after, coming back into work I just couldn’t do it.”