Of all of the issues needing addressed in the Kilmarnock team in the January transfer window, the goalkeeping position was probably bottom of any supporter’s wish-list.

With Jamie MacDonald in situ and maintaining the fine form that went a huge way to helping the Rugby Park club avoid relegation last season, it was widely thought that he, if only he, was impervious to the threat of Kilmarnock’s revolving door transfer policy.

The eyebrow-raising that then accompanied his usurping by the arrival of a young goalkeeper on-loan along with two other players from Newcastle United has probably only been matched at Rugby Park this season when the fax popped through from Al-Ahly with the offer for Souleymane Coulibaly.

In that regard, Woodman was facing a sceptical public. And to his credit, he has answered any doubters with a series of assured displays.

To fans down south, this would hardly come as a surprise, with Woodman capped for England at under-21 level, but arriving as a relative unknown north of the border to put a fans' favourite on the bench was daunting, even for a youngster who is so assured in his ability.

Luckily, he has had the support of the man who he has relegated to the role of spectator on a Saturday to help him through.

“It’s been difficult coming into a club with an established goalkeeper,” Woodman said. “I feel I’ve had to win over a lot of fans.

“But since I’ve come in, Jambo’s been top drawer with me and he has really helped me to progress.

“With his experience and knowledge of the Scottish game, he has given me a lot of good tips and he tells me about certain players before I have to face them, such as their best attributes and the types of finishes they’re likely to attempt.”

Woodman hopes to follow the path tread by Tim Krul, who came on loan to Scotland with Falkirk before going on to be first choice at Newcastle and to represent his country at senior level.

The 20-year-old may have an advantage going for him in that regard, with a close connection to the current England manager, but he knows that if he is to eventually earn caps it will be under his own steam.

“Everyone keeps reminding me that the England manager Gareth Southgate is my godfather but we have a strictly professional relationship,” he said.

“One of my goals is to play for England’s senior team one day. That’s the big aim. I’ve played in every age group up to the Under-21s, so the next progression is to the seniors.

“I know you don’t just walk in to that squad, however. You have to play in the Premier League and perform to a consistently high standard but that’s got to be the motivation.”

He has been encouraged in that immediate aim by the keen and continued interest that the manager of his parent club has taken in his development.

“The gaffer at Newcastle, Rafa Benitez, texts me quite often to see how I’m doing in general and how I’m performing at the weekends,” he said.

“I stay in contact with him quite a lot, and also with the other lads down there. They’re always asking after me and it’s a good thing.

“My long-term aim is definitely to be the first-choice keeper at Newcastle one day. I set a lot of goals and that’s one of them.

“But I know that what I’m doing now matters, and Rafa said to me before I went away that I’d need to get loan games and more experience, and ultimately play men’s football.

“I feel like I’m doing that now and once I go back I can say I’ve done it, and maybe push for No.1.

“Rafa was brilliant for me when he first came in to Newcastle. As a young goalkeeper, I didn’t think he’d take much interest in me but he talked to me all the time about the keepers he’s had, such as Pepe Reina and Keylor Navas at Real Madrid.

“Even in training, his attention to detail is the best I’ve ever seen in the game. He watches every single bit of movement a goalkeeper makes and every decision a goalkeeper makes.

“Rafa always wants to improve and learn new things, and it’s amazing I can get that sort of knowledge from a man like him.

“He is a Champions League winner and he’s won things at every club he has been at. Hopefully this year Newcastle will win the Championship - I feel that they will do it.

“It’s actually quite surreal to tell your mates that Rafa Benitez is texting you and keeping tabs on you.”

Whether Benitez is also keeping tabs on Jamie MacDonald, only he could tell you.