EDDIE Howe has played down the glowing comments made about him by the FA chairman to a parliamentary committee.

Greg Clarke was being quizzed by MPs last week about the unravelling of Sam Allardyce’s short-lived tenure as England manager when the subject turned to who should succeed the deposed boss.

Asked by culture, media and sport committee member Jason McCartney whether Howe fitted the criteria the FA wanted from their national team manager, Clarke lavished praise on the 38-year-old.

"Talented", "energetic", "wonderful", "respected" and "honourable" were just some of the superlatives he used to describe Howe.

Clarke did also stress it might be too soon to burden Cherries’ boss with the task of leading his country’s football team.

Gareth Southgate has taken the job on an interim basis, with the former Middlesbrough manager’s initial four-game stint in charge set to end with matches against Scotland and Spain next month.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “I didn’t hear it but someone told me about it, so I’ll take any praise given.

"But obviously the fact I haven’t seen it or heard about it means the focus for me is always on the training and the next day in this job.”