Born in Heswall, Merseyside, lifelong Evertonian Ian Woan started his playing career with his boyhood club but never managed to break through to make a senior appearance.
Nearly 40 years later, Woan eventually returned to the Blues to become Sean Dyche’s Assistant Manager.
Woan had previously worked alongside Dyche at both Burnley and Watford, having first met the manager – and First-Team Coach Steve Stone – as a young player at Nottingham Forest.
Between 2012 and 2022, Woan spent almost a decade at Burnley, helping the club to secure promotions to the Premier League, as well as earning European football with an impressive seventh-placed Premier League finish.
Prior to that, Woan had worked with Dyche as Assistant Manager of Watford between 2011 and 2012. The move came after Woan had cut his teeth with various coaching positions at West Ham United, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Rushden & Diamonds, and Swindon Town.
Between 1990 and 2000, Woan made 189 league appearances for Forest, before then moving to Barnsley. Later in his playing career, Woan had two spells in the United States and turned out for Colombus Crew and Miami Fusion and New York-based Syracuse Salty Dogs.
