DESPITE spending most of their respective careers at opposite ends of the country, Eddie Howe and Tony Mowbray have much in common.

Rival managers at the Riverside when Cherries face Middlesbrough, the pair were both idolised during their playing days with their local clubs.

Both were inspirational and cultured defenders, both were bestowed the captaincy at the age of 22 and both went on to manage where they had been huge terrace favourites.

And although a 14-year gap sets them apart in terms of age, the two Sagittarians have enjoyed great success by adopting similar styles during their managerial careers.

Howe, discussing his meeting with the second longest-serving manager in the Championship behind Derby’s Nigel Clough, said: “Without knowing Tony’s exact situation, it is a difficult one.

“But when you have a history with a club, I think the natural feeling from people is that they want you to do well because you had a successful playing career and that gives you a head start.

“But the reality is you will only get support as long as you are successful in the job. Maybe you get the benefit of the doubt before you go in and then it is up to you.

“I think that is a big help to any respective manager going into a club he has an association with.

"But then you need to get the results on the pitch and Tony has done that throughout his managerial career.

“I think he is a very good manager and the biggest admiration I have for him is that he sticks to his principles and his teams always play very good football. I certainly had some good tussles with him when we were at Burnley so I have got a lot of respect for him and the way he does things.”

Mowbray, known affectionately as Mogga, made 348 appearances for Boro and led them to promotion as runners-up to Cherries in the old second division in 1987, his first full season as captain.

Following spells at Celtic and Ipswich, he cut his teeth in management during a brief stint as caretaker at Portman Road before earning his first permanent job at Hibs. From there, he moved to West Brom, guiding the Baggies to the Premier League after they won the Championship in 2008.

A disappointing stay in the hot-seat at Celtic ended with the sack for Mowbray before Middlesbrough came calling a season-and-a-bit after they had crashed through the Premier League trapdoor under Gordon Strachan.

In not dissimilar circumstances to when Howe left Dean Court for Burnley, Mowbray was charged with trying to bring back the glory days on Teesside, a task which has proved difficult for a succession of managers taking over at fallen Premier League clubs.

Howe said: “The big difference, looking from the Bournemouth perspective, is that we are still a small club trying to make our way in a very big division. You compare the two sides and the two clubs and we are very much trying to do things differently to Middlesbrough.

“We have come up from League Two to the Championship and it is all very new to us.

“They have come the other way and have come down from the Premier League, probably with a huge budget and big players and are having to manage that situation.

“But with the manager they have got, I am sure they will be looking to get back up this season. They are a very good side with very good players and they have a lot of experience.

“If we are to get anything, we are going to have to play extremely well and any point would be points gained because I imagine Middlesbrough will be up there towards the end of the season.”