TV and radio host Laura Woods is the latest to blast Northern Ireland Womenâs manager Kenny Shiels after he claimed women are âmore emotionalâ than men. Shielsâ remarks came after his team lost 5-0 to England in front of more than 15,000 at Windsor Park. Speaking in his post-match press conference, he said: âI felt [England] were struggling a wee bit at times to open us up until the psychology of going 2-0 up in the womenâs game. âIâm sure you will have noticed if you go through the patterns â when a team concedes a goal, they concede a second one in a very, very short space of time. â[It happens] right through the whole spectrum of the womenâs game, because girls and women are more emotional than men. So, they take a goal going in not very well.â
Woods criticises Shiels
A number of people have condemned Shielsâ words, including former Arsenal and England star Ian Wright, who said the Norther Irish boss was âtalking foolishness.âÂ
And Woods has now echoed Wrightâs thoughts and offered her own scathing assessment of the incident.
While talking on the talkSPORT Breakfast, host Woods said: âIâm hoping not to react in too much of an emotional way for Kenny [Shiels] to digest this one.Â
âI think Iâve seen more teams capitulate across a broad spectrum of games in menâs and womenâs football â I dont think itâs got anything to do with emotion, necessarily.
âââWhat I do think it might have something to do with, is that England are ranked eighth in the world and Northern Ireland are 46th, so Iâm just going to say thatâs got something to do with your team getting pumped by the Lionesses, perhaps?
âI think thatâs a really silly observation to make and itâs not going to go down well.â
Co-host and former Aston Villa skipper Gabby Agbonlahor could sense Woods was holding in her anger and said: âYouâre counting to ten in your head, arenât you Laura?â
âI really am,â Woods replied. âItâs just my emotions, they might get the better of me!
âAnd I tell you who wonât appreciate it â his players,â added Woods. âMaybe itâs got more to do with the way youâre managing your team, Kenny!
âI choose to laugh at it, really, because itâs just so ridiculous.
âItâs definitely got more to do with the way your team is set up, and the fact the womenâs game in England is leaps and bounds ahead of the game in many other countries. You just have to look at these World Cup qualifying games as proof of that.â
Shiels issues apology
After widespread backlash to his comments, Shiels has now apologised. In a statement, he said: âI wish to apologise for my comments made in the post-match press conference last night. I am sorry for the offence they have caused.
âLast night was a special occasion for the womenâs game in Northern Ireland and I am proud to manage a group of players who are role models for so many girls, and boys, across the country.
âI am an advocate for the womenâs game and passionate about developing opportunities for women and girls to flourish.âÂ
Northern Ireland Womenâs captain Marissa Callaghan has also stressed that the team will stand by Shiels.
âIn light of recent events, collectively we stand by our manager,â she said. âWe feel his interview was in relation to a meeting we had as a team where we analysed that we concede goals in quick succession and emotions was one of the many things we discussed.â