EDDIE Howe admits seeing Carl Fletcher leave Leyton Orient was “very sad”, adding how he plans to “sit down and discuss” the possibility of him returning to Cherries.

Fletcher last month left his role as the club’s loan manager to take up the job as head coach of Leyton Orient.

However, after just 29 days he left his position at the League Two outfit having won none of his five matches in charge.

Orient chairman Nigel Travis was quick to absolve Fletcher of any blame, claiming the club “screwed up” in appointing the 39-year-old, adding “the cultural fit wasn’t right”.

Asked if he feels that experience has put Fletcher off taking a future role in management, Howe told the Daily Echo: “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken in depth with him in terms of what’s his future thoughts on management.

“I think it’s more a case of just consoling him at this moment and making sure he’s okay.

“I think Carl is such a strong character, so strong-willed, confident lad in terms of his own abilities.

“I don’t think you’ll see a problem with him not wanting to take on another challenge, but whether that’s in management or something else, I don’t know. Only Carl can decide that.”

Former Cherries midfielder Fletcher played more than 200 games for the club between 1997 and 2004 and rejoined in 2014, taking on roles as under-18s and under-21s boss before becoming the club’s first loan manager around a year ago.

Cherries have not appointed anybody yet to replace Fletcher.

And Howe has sympathy for his former team-mate after his swift exit from the O’s.

“It shows the delicate nature of the job we’re all in,” said Howe.

“(He had) very minimal time in the job, not a chance really to get his feet under the table and get to know his players and develop how he wants to play.

“So I feel for Carl, because I know how difficult the decision was to leave here, it was a big call for him and his family for him to leave here because he was firmly established and doing a really good job in a key role for us.

“That was very sad. Whether he comes back or not, I don’t know. We’ll have to sit down and discuss it.”

Howe added: “He’d been a manager before (at Plymouth) so he knew what to expect.

“But I think when you’re out of it, even for a short time, I think you don’t forget the demands of management but certainly I think it’s good to discuss it, so we did.

“We had various conversations, that’s why I feel for him because I know what a deep thinker he is and how much this experience probably would’ve hurt him.”