Eddie Howe: I had to leave Burnley for Bournemouth

New Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe says personal reasons left him with no choice but to leave Burnley.

Howe returns to the Cherries after nearly two years at Turf Moor.

He said it was a tough decision to quit the Championship side for League One Bournemouth, but that he believed it was the right one.

"I had to do it for my family. It's been a difficult six months for me and I hope the Burnley fans understand," Howe told BBC Radio Solent on Saturday.

Howe, whose mother died in March, and who has a young child, replaces Paul Groves who was sacked this month.

He says the challenge and expectation facing him is very different to when he left.

The 34-year-old kept Bournemouth in the Football League in his first season in charge before leading them to promotion in 2010 on a limited budget.

He left for Burnley in January 2011, but leaves with the Lancashire club 16th in the Championship.

"It's been a difficult week," admitted Howe, who was raised in Dorset.

"Walking through the door [on Saturday] it felt like we had never been away, but there have been a lot of changes here especially in the infrastructure so we've been really impressed."

Ambitious Bournemouth have spent millions of pounds in the past two years improving the club's training facilities and stadium, as well as investing heavily in their playing squad.

"It's a different challenge and we are aware of the pitfalls those challenges bring," said Howe.

"The expectations here have gone through the roof and we really need the supporters to get behind us. We need to unite the club, staff, players and most importantly the supporters."

The Cherries have only won one league game this season and are 21st in the table.

And Howe says despite the expectation at the Goldsands Stadium, he is not even considering a promotion push.

"We just need to get the basics right before we start looking up the table," said Howe. "We need to improve the team spirit and get the team playing well."

Chairman Eddie Mitchell revealed it was his wife who persuaded him to bring Howe back to the club, and believes it is a major coup.

"My wife persuaded me to try and bring them [Howe and assistant manager Jason Tindall] back. I don't normally listen to her so I had to swing it so that it was my idea so then it was OK," Mitchell told BBC Radio Solent before Saturday's game.

"I didn't see why they wouldn't want to drop down to League One and, who knows, we might overtake them [Burnley] soon.

"The fans were a big factor but the main thing is we wanted the right man to take the club forward."