Lancashire Telegraph - FORMER Burnley defender Ian Cox says the club have appointed a manager on the up, after putting his old Bournemouth team-mate Eddie Howe in the Turf Moor hotseat.
The duo were central defensive partners during Cox’s four years on the south coast, before he made a £500,000 move to East Lancashire.
Almost 11 years on, Howe has travelled in the same direction, and Cox has backed the 33-year-old to be a big hit, insisting he wouldn’t have accepted the job if he didn’t believe he could match the Clarets’ promotion ambitions.
“I think it’s a wonderful appointment,” said the former Trinidad and Tobago international, who spent three years with the Clarets.
“The way he thinks and the type of person he is I think he can only be pushing on and on “Even though it’s a big stepping stone and an excellent learning curve, Eddie’s proved his credentials down at Bournemouth and it’s an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
“He’s served his apprenticeship and he’s ready for a crack at the big time and I think he will do a good job.
“Sometimes the only way to gain experience is by being thrown in at the deep end, and Eddie’s never been one to shirk a challenge.
“He goes about his business quietly and confidently and he will relish this opportunity. I don’t think he would have gone to Burnley if he didn’t.”
Howe takes charge of his first game tonight, at Sc**thorpe (kick-off 5.20pm), hoping Burnley’s away curse doesn’t carry on under his leadership.
The Iron have won only once in 10 games – at Turf Moor on December 28 – and have only one league win at Glanford Park all season.
Only two teams have picked up less points on the road than the Clarets, but Cox insists that won’t faze Howe.
“He’ll be chomping at the bit for his first game after a full week with the boys,” he said.
“He’s going to go into Burnley with fresh ideas, as he did down at Bournemouth.
“They were just about to drop out of the Football League but he turned it around and got them promoted, and they’re still doing very well in League One. That’s down to his involvement.
“He brought a lot of young players on and had experienced players as well, like Lee Bradbury and Steve Fletcher. He worked with them and got the best out of them.
“Eddie’s a very intelligent young man, very level-headed and someone who everyone warms to. He will get the respect of the players.”
Reluctant to pile early pressure on Howe, Cox did not go so far as to predict where top-six chasing Burnley might finish this season, but added: “It’s not as if Burnley are a million miles away. There’s time to make a push for the play-offs.
“Eddie’s an optimistic person.
“The world’s his oyster.”