AS comebacks go, it was more Noel Edmonds than Muhammad Ali.

When Eddie Howe was asked in October 2012 whether it would be Deal or No Deal, few could have anticipated his reply would have had such a major impact on the history of AFC Bournemouth.

With Cherries languishing fourth from bottom in League One, supporters felt they had suffered knockout blows at the hands of Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick following Howe’s departure to Burnley in January 2011.

However, three years ago today, Howe and Jason Tindall were reappointed as Cherries’ management duo and the red jackpot box was well and truly opened.

The club Howe first took charge of on New Year’s Day 2009 and had rescued from the threat of oblivion was lurching from one crisis to another.

Disharmony and protests had greeted results during a disastrous few months under Paul Groves and Shaun Brooks.

The return of Howe and Tindall, which had seemed a fanciful notion at one stage, raised intriguing issues about the wisdom of trying to recapture past glories. They were always going to be welcomed home with open arms but their comeback was a risk.

“It was a risk for both parties,” said Howe, in a special interview with the Daily Echo to mark the management duo’s third anniversary of their second spell.

“It has been incredible and you could never have foreseen how successful it would have been. You never quite know how it is going to work the second time compared with the first.

“To have had the success we have in those three years has been much more than we had expected. It has gone better than anyone could have hoped.

“The Championship was the dream and if anyone had said we would have got there within three years, I would have viewed that as an achievement.

“Our league position wasn’t good when we came back so our first job was to try to consolidate and stay in the division and then build a team good enough to get out of the division.

“The long-term view was to try to move the club forward very quickly but I don’t think we or the owner or anyone else foresaw just how quickly we would be successful from that starting point.

“If anyone was to ask me where I think the club will be in three years, I would say it is a tough one to answer. As a manager, you have a difficult balancing act. You want to plan long term, and everything you do is for the long term but you need short-term results.

“It has been remarkable how much the club, away from the football side, has changed in three years. It has been very difficult to try to keep pace with everything that has happened.

“In terms of building for the long term – the youth team, the development squad, the facilities, the stadium and the staffing – the club has made great efforts to improve everything while continuing to improve the playing staff.

“With the speed at which the club has moved forward, one of the biggest challenges has been trying to ensure the infrastructure keeps pace with the team.

“As you move higher and get more successful, the challenges become harder and the margins to improve the team get smaller. We are now probably within our toughest challenge and this is going to be the hardest season.

“When you look at the players and clubs you are competing against, this is a huge step up. But you want to be facing the best. It will be a very exciting season but a very demanding one as well.”

Howe added: “I always want improvement. That is not related to league positions, it is related to the team evolving and getting better. Of course, league positions are a measure of that. This year is no different. I am looking to create a better team to the one which won the Championship.

“I am looking to individuals to improve and bring their games to another level. I think the players know that if they don’t, it is going to be difficult for them to stay on the journey so the challenge is always there to self improve and to make yourself better.”