As soon as Gareth Southgate announced his departure from the England job - Eddie Howe was immediately linked to the role as one of the main contenders.
Featuring on a lot of shortlists to be the next national team manager, surprisingly Howe proved not to be on the FA's radar. The Newcastle United manager confirmed in October he was not contacted about the job, just after Thomas Tuchel's appointment was made public.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said they had "interviewed approximately 10 people" during their search, but Howe was not in that group. Now the Newcastle boss has revealed his own reaction to finding out he was not in the frame for the job.
Eddie Howe says he was not disappointed the FA didn't approach him
Speaking to Simon Jordan on William Hill's Up Front podcast, Howe has explained that he was not disappointed the FA failed to approach him.
Howe said: “I wasn’t one of the 10 candidates whom the FA talked to about the England job, and I’m not disappointed about that.
"That’s not a dig at England at all because I’m in a job at the moment where I’m happy. In terms of speculation, the media hype with England is so big and to be out of that is really where I want to be.
“I wasn’t sitting there focusing on England and wanting to be considered for the job. I was away with Newcastle on pre-season when Gareth Southgate decided to leave and suddenly I was bombarded with it.”
Howe previously revealed he has a good relationship with the incoming England manager Tuchel, saying he visited the German coach at Chelsea back in 2021 - at which time Howe was out of work.
But the Magpies manager also admitted to Jordan that he would rather an Englishman be in charge, whilst adding that Tuchel could prove a smart appointment.
“I would prefer the England manager to be English,” said Howe. “But if he can’t be English then you have to get the best person you can to coach the team and help us win trophies – I think Thomas Tuchel is that person.
"I’ve been lucky enough to see him work and he’s not just a great coach but also a great person. I think it could be a very successful time for England.”
In FourFourTwo's view, Howe was certainly unlucky not to be in contention for the England job, after successful spells at both Bournemouth and Newcastle.
However, this could be more down to the FA wanting to spend their budget for the job on salary to get the best appointment, rather than having to pay excess compensation to get Howe out of St James Park.
Once you put the nationality issue aside and judge the contenders purely on ability, Tuchel was always going to be the standout candidate.
