EDDIE Howe revealed how he would have departed Cherries no matter the outcome of their 2019-20 campaign, saying: “I think it was time.”

Cherries legend Howe called time on his second spell as manager at the Vitality Stadium following relegation from the Premier League in the summer of 2020.

The fan favourite had won promotion to the Championship in his first season back on the south coast in 2013, before taking Cherries to a new high by winning the second division title in 2015.

A five-year stint in the Premier League followed, with Howe departing after being unable to prevent Cherries slipping back into the Championship.

Shortly after relegation was confirmed, it was announced Howe would be leaving his childhood club.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Howe revealed that even if Cherries had beaten the drop he would have departed.

He shared: “I think it was time. I knew that season that it had taken every ounce of energy from me to try and keep the team up.

"There was a moment in my head that I just knew.

“I knew I had to leave at the end of that season, because I think there was a two-week break because of COVID.

“So two weeks, the lads were back in for pre-season training, and I wasn’t there mentally. I would not have been the manager Bournemouth needed me to be.

“But if that was the case with Bournemouth, that would have been the case with anybody else.

“I just needed to get away. It was a mutual decision, we had such a good relationship and such an unbelievable time together. We sat down and I discussed my feelings and it was mutual.

“It was hard decision when football is my life, but also Bournemouth was my life.  But I always felt in my heart that I had to do what was right for Bournemouth, not for me.

“Which was absolutely true at the time, I was thinking of both sides of it.

“My history with Bournemouth, and not just the club but my history with the town, my time there was intertwined with everything.”