EDDIE Howe probably didn’t realise at the time just how the management bug would take hold.

Chances are it was not the destination and it was far less likely to have been the surroundings that gave the Cherries boss an unquenchable thirst for more when he took to the dugout for the first time at Darlington.

The result on that freezing January afternoon in County Durham would have been enough to have many running for the hills as well.

It was gut-wrenching enough when Danny Hollands’s first-half strike had been cancelled out by substitute Pawel Abbott with seven minutes to play.

But Howe was soon to experience management’s dark side.

Echo reporter Neil Perrett reported Cherries had been “heading for a deserved share of the spoils” from “an engrossing spectacle” until referee Scott Mathieson took centre stage.

The Stockport-based official controversially pointed to the penalty spot having ruled that Jason Pearce had upended Darlo’s Franz Burgmeier.

Rob Purdie converted with the clock on 90 minutes and that was that.

“It prepared me very well for a career in management,” said Howe ahead of taking charge of his 373rd competitive professional match at Manchester United.

“That feeling, those extreme emotions, they haven’t changed. The feeling of losing certainly hasn’t changed, it hurts so badly, so it was a nice little welcome to management.”

At the age of 31, Howe had agreed to stand in for the sacked Jimmy Quinn three days earlier with Cherries, deducted 17 points before a ball had been kicked, seven points shy of the safety threshold in League Two.

“I can recall being very nervous before the game,” recalled Howe.

“It was a totally different feeling to playing and one you could not be prepared for until you were actually in it.

“I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable being in that position to start with, being the manager.”

Taking the reins saw Howe placed in charge of people who had recently been team-mates, even friends, but his shift towards coaching had already seen him establish the required professional distance.

“I had been coaching for a while on Kevin Bond’s staff and in the centre of excellence so I had started to develop my manner and philosophy,” said Howe.

“To be honest, I had no problem cutting myself off. I did that as soon as I became a coach.

“Those team-mates were no longer friends, they had to do what I asked them to do so you quickly lose that relationship and build another one.”

It soon worked.

Goalscorer Hollands declared the team’s intent to get behind the rookie gaffer and Howe’s position was made permanent.

A remarkable turnaround of 12 wins in 23 matches guided Cherries to safety as the seeds of the meteoric rise were sown.

Including a stint at Burnley, Howe has presided over 155 wins, 74 draws and 103 defeats, guiding Cherries to the Promised Land of the top flight with two promotions since returning to a club in the League One relegation zone in October 2012.

The price of that success? A never-ending drive to avoid the pain suffered on January 3, 2009.

Howe simply cannot switch off. “It doesn’t work like that. If you have any ideas, please tell me!” he quipped.

“There has been no let up. It is the type of job where you have to be 100 per cent committed to try to be successful and give everything you have.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t have fun and enjoy myself in different ways but the job is always there and the mind is always thinking about the next challenge.

“I very rarely enjoy a game on a pure football level like I used to. I would think ‘there’s a game on tonight, I can’t wait to see that’. Now, it is ‘there is a game on tonight, I will be dissecting that later’.

“That is just how it is, you look at it from a different angle. What are you watching? How can we make our team better from what I am seeing? Are there new things to learn? That’s how I watch football now.”

Cherries: Jalal 6, Bradbury 6, Guyett 7, Pearce 7, Cummings 6.5 (Garry, 62), Molesley 7.5, Bartley 6, Cooper 7.5, Partington 6 (Goulding, 90), Hollands 8, Pitman 7.5 (Connell, 85). Unused subs: Igoe, Pryce (g/k).