Stoke City midfielder Ryan Woods has suggested that Michael O'Neill taking over as the club's new manager from Nathan Jones, has offered him the chance to prove the doubters wrong and get his career with the Potters back on track.

Woods arrived at the Bet365 Stadium from fellow Championship side Brentford in the summer of 2018, but after a promising start to life at Stoke, he found himself somewhat of a peripheral figure when Jones took over from Gary Rowett, with the 25-year-old going on to start just 12 of the former Luton Town manager's 38 matches in charge of the club.

So far this season Woods has demonstrated his ability with an encouraging midfield performance in the Potters' 2-2 draw at home to Derby County back in August, but after being brought off at half time in the following game with Stoke 2-0 behind at Preston North End, Woods was not given another league minute by Jones for the following two months.

However, Woods was brought straight into the team for O'Neill's first game in charge of the club on Saturday against Barnsley, and the 25-year-old performed well alongside Joe Allen and Sam Clucas in a 4-3-3 formation, with the midfielders composure in possession allowing the Potters to build their attacks and look better going forwards.

Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, Woods suggested that O'Neill taking over from Jones has given him and given a renewed chance to get his career at the Bet365 Stadium up and running, saying: "It’s really encouraging that a new manager can come in and put his faith in you straight away. A lot of people could have said I wasn’t match fit because I hadn’t started for two months but I would like to think I showed any doubters wrong.

"Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot more in me and a lot more I need to work on to get to the level I know I can be but, to be back in and win, it was a good day."

The Verdict

O'Neill showed on Saturday that he is prepared to offer Woods the chance to refresh and battle for places in Stoke's midfield for the rest of the season, and the midfielder certainly made a promising start with him displaying the sort of technical ability that persuaded the Potters to bring him in from Bentford ahead of last term.

Woods could be the ideal player to have sitting in a 4-3-3 formation, with the 25-year-old's presence on Saturday allowing both Allen and Clucas more freedom to venture forwards and cause problems in the final third, highlighted by both players getting on the score sheet.

It has been a frustrating period for Woods, who arrived at Stoke as one of the most highly rated midfielders in the Championship, but having been frozen out by Jones for the last couple of months he now needs to show his quality once again.