The Stevie Woods Celtic exit rumours appeared almost immediately at the start of Wilfried Nancy’s Parkhead reign.
Woods is one of the most respected and decorated coaches at Celtic and has played a huge part in the success the club has delivered over the past 20 years.
The arrival of Wilfried Nancy sparked strange rumours that the goalkeeping coach was unhappy and was set to leave Celtic.
What do you think is the main reason Wilfried Nancy couldn’t buy a win as Celtic manager? 🤔
The stats are damning…
The former Celtic boss had to publicly deny those whispers but they came to the fore again this week when Mark Guidi shared that Woods was set to leave the Bhoys.
Now part of Martin O’Neill’s backroom staff, journalist Stephen McGowan has shared what Nancy did that almost forced the legendary Celtic coach out of the Parkhead exit door,
- READ MORE: What Wilfried Nancy did to Celtic legend James Forrest that left senior players ‘dissatisfied’
How Wilfried Nancy ‘challenged’ respected Celtic coach Stevie Woods
Woods arrived at Celtic in 2007 and has coached and developed the likes of Artur Boruc, Craig Gordon, Fraser Forster and Joe Hart.
Despite his history at the club, Wilfried Nancy just dismissed that as McGowan shares how the former Celtic boss ‘challenged’ the iconic Hoops coach.
McGowan wrote in The Herald, “Whispers of disappointment, unease and a lack of confidence in the new man were rife from the first week.
“Despite 18 years as Celtic’s goalkeeping coach, Stevie Woods was challenged to prove himself all over again to the new regime.
“Rumours of a departure became a weekly soap opera with more twists and turns than River City.”
What Joe Hart said about Celtic goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods
Woods has the respect of current and past players and managers over his almost 20-year stay at Celtic.
To get a measure of how his reputation preceded him, we take a look back at what Joe Hart said about Woods at Celtic when he joined the club in 2021.
Hart said, “I’m really excited. Just as I’m sure Celtic have done their homework on me, I’ve done my homework as quickly and as best I could. Woodsy got glowing reports from all of the guys who have worked with him.
“I spoke to coaches who know him as a coach and I’ll be honest, just from early conversations I love his drive, I love his passion for this club and his passion for goalkeeping. We share that, so hopefully it can be a good relationship.
“I spoke to Stan Petrov, he holds this place really close to his heart. Robbie Keane, people like that, I’ve talked to them about what they think of this place. It’s nothing but positive. I want to experience that for myself. I want to have my own experience just to pass on hopefully in the future.”
How Nancy got this particular episode in his Celtic career so wrong is beyond us.
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