JONATHAN Woodgate insists he is "absolutely happy" with the length of his contract at Cherries.

The 41-year-old had initially signed up on a deal until the end of the season to become a first-team coach under Jason Tindall.

But, after Tindall was sacked, Woodgate has now stepped into the role of head coach, with his deal still set to expire in the summer.

Asked why he had only been offered a short-term contract, Woodgate said: "That’s something you’d have to ask the football club. They’ve offered me the chance to manage the football club and that’s something you’d have to ask the board really.

"But I’m happy with the contract situation. There’s clarity now, so I’m looking forward to the future."

Quizzed on if he had pushed for a more extended deal, Woodgate insisted: "No, not one bit. I was happy with that, totally, absolutely happy.

"It was how long I signed for as a coach, so it’s how long I sign for as a manager."

Cherries were linked with a host of managers for the role after they let Tindall go earlier this month.

The likes of Thierry Henry, David Wagner and John Terry were all strongly linked, before the board opted to keep Woodgate at the helm after his successful five-game interim spell as they continue their quest for promotion.

The former Real Madrid and Leeds United man's only past managerial experience came during a difficult spell at Middlesbrough last season.

Asked if he felt Cherries had taken a gamble in hiring him, given the club's remit to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, Woodgate said: "I think if you look at speculation of candidates they were interviewing, how many had guided a team to promotion?

"We don’t know exactly who the candidates were, but there’s not many managers who have got promotion out of work at the minute.

"But I’m a manager who has got experience in the Championship, knows the squad, had the squad for two weeks under my stewardship and got results out of that squad."

Cherries stated they were keen to hire an external appointment when they fired Tindall.

"I think everyone has taken the external approach as literally," said Woodgate.

"I’d been in the building two days and if you like, that was basically my interview as being the interim manager.

"I have no idea on first-choice candidates. I was basically there in the shop window, getting results. So I had the perfect chance to show what I can do."