Meeting Steve McClaren's Newcastle Backroom Staff - Everything You Need To Know

4. Andy Woodman - Goalkeeping Coach

Now Andy Woodman may not be a new arrival but he has not exactly been the public face of Newcastle United Football Club over the last few seasons either. A former stopper himself, goalkeeping coach Woodman has been at Newcastle since December 2010 - when he joined up with his former teammate Alan Pardew once more, having already worked on his staff at both West Ham United and Charlton Athletic. Having enjoyed an 18-year-old playing career with the likes of Northampton Town, Brentford, Colchester United, Oxford United and Stevenage Borough, Woodman was forced to retire through injury while at Rushden & Diamonds. He became the club's assistant boss before joining Pardew at West Ham, and he has pretty much followed the ex-Newcastle boss' career ever since - except to Southampton, and now at Crystal Palace. Interestingly, Pardew wants Woodman to join him at Selhurst Park - they both played together there, and the goalkeeping coach is from the south London area as well - but as of yet the Eagles have not met the compensation package the Magpies are demanding. With Steve McClaren's former goalkeeping coach Eric Steele having been recently released by Derby County, it may only be a matter of time before he replaces Woodman at St James' Park. A complicating final factor, however, is that Woodman's son is a promising goalkeeper at Newcastle. England Under-19 stopper Freddie Woodman is seen as a future Three Lions international and Magpies No 1, so keeping his father as goalkeeping coach is seen as one way of retaining the services of the extremely-promising 18-year-old too...