Eddie Howe taking on his old coach Tony Pulis

The Baggies head coach started his management career on the south coast when Howe – who played for Bournemouth for most of his career – was a teenage apprentice.

More than 20 years later the pair are facing each other at the Vitality Stadium tomorrow with 38-year-old Howe hoping to the double over his former teacher after Bournemouth beat Albion 2-1 at The Hawthorns earlier this season.

Responding to questions from the Daily Echo, Howe said: "My first memories of professional football were all down to Tony. He used to come down to the Centre of Excellence and coach the 14 and 15-year-olds.

"As players at that age, I don't think we fully appreciated that we had the manager of Bournemouth taking sessions with us. We just thought it was normal. But it was not and that was down to his work ethic.

"When you are a 16-year-old and coming into a professional environment for the first time, your ideas are shaped by those experiences.

"He was very organised, with hard-working staff and they were very tough training sessions and I have tried to take that into my work.

"I think respect is earned rather than given, even at that age. He was a football man who lived for football and and his work ethic was exceptional.

"I've got full respect for him, he's a brilliant manager."

Pulis remembers Howe being a teenage apprentice when he was manager at Bournemouth, and he still lives in the area to this day.

"It'll be a tough game for us," said Pulis. "They've invested in their squad and they've got a very strong squad there, you only have to look at the bench to see the players and the quality they've got.

"Having watched them the last few games, it's interesting to see they've almost gone back to the team that got promoted last year apart from Josh King.

"The players that he's bought in and invested have been outside that 11, that's great for the lads that got them promoted."