Hollands hails former boss Howe (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

SWINDON TOWN: Hollands hails former boss Howe

6:00am Friday 11th January 2013 in Sport By Sam Morshead

DANNY Hollands has paid tribute to his former manager and teammate Eddie Howe ahead of his return to old club Bournemouth this weekend.

The midfielder played alongside and then underneath Howe during a five-year stint at Dean Court, making 219 appearances and scoring 28 goals. During that time he gained great respect for the Cherries boss, who despite his tender years has made a name for himself as one of the brightest managerial talents in this country.

Hollands sees parallels between the tactical nous of his current boss Paolo Di Canio and Howe’s strategic mind, and he expects tomorrow’s collision of footballing philosophies to produce a sizzling encounter on the south coast.

“When I originally signed for Bournemouth I was playing alongside Eddie Howe.

“He’s done a fantastic job, he obviously wants to prove people wrong. I know he’s going to be very up for the game and get three big points,” he said.

“We’re in a good run of form, they’re in a good run of form so something’s got to give.

“Hopefully it’s not from our point of view.

“He’s a great manager.

“I was playing in his first game when he took charge and from day one he was organised.

“He gets the best out of players, he’s a good man manager, he gets people working for him, he knows people’s strengths and he’s very, very thorough in what he does.

“He’s a good manager, similar to Paolo, so it will be a good tactical match I would have thought.”

Hollands is fondly remembered by Bournemouth fans, and the south coast club holds plenty of good memories for the 27-year-old, but that will not cloud his thoughts as he bids to help Swindon Town secure a fifth straight win in League One.

“It’ll be nice to return to Bournemouth. I still speak to a lot of people,” he said.

“It’s a great club, it’s a great place and they’re in a good run of form as well.

“Hopefully it should be a great game.

“I don’t know which way it will end up going, hopefully it will go our way, but it will be a very tough test.

“I feel we’ve got enough, especially with the run of form we’re in, to go there and get three points.

“I’ll say hello to people but I’m there to do a job, I’m there as a Swindon Town footballer and I want to get three points for the club. Nothing will change.

“There might be a little bit of banter after the game but I’m there to do a job, that’s my main aim.”