Eddie Howe said that he'll only return to management if an opportunity 'really motivates' him.

The former Bournemouth manager has been out of work since leaving the Cherries following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.

Since then Howe has been linked with a number of jobs, including Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County, a club who are still looking for a new boss.

While the former manager is not thought to be in serious contention for the role with the Rams, he's spoken about what it would take to get back into the game and while his time out of work has proven more difficult than he first thought/

Speaking to Sky Sports, Howe said: "I made my decision for the best interests of Bournemouth and myself.

"I wanted to be at home and be with my family, to see my kids grow up, I wanted to learn and develop my knowledge and abilities as a manager.

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"Then, if I decide to get back in, if I am lucky enough to get given an opportunity, I will do that. But for me, I do not want to get back in just for the sake of it, it would have to be something that really motivated me.

"It's difficult with lockdown, my options of what I imagined I might be able to do are gone in terms of watching other people work, and travelling round the world gaining knowledge and improving myself.

"It's a pretty lonely existence in terms of doing that at home, reading, I have always been very interested in any way of bettering myself whether that's as a person or looking at football."

The verdict

Eddie Howe is a top football coach and it won't be long until he's back in the game.

Whether this is with Derby County or someone else, there's no doubt that he's already proven himself as a real talent and someone who would be an asset to any club in the Championship.

It remains to be seen when he'll be back, but the Rams could do a lot worse than getting Howe in.