By all accounts the players are thrilled by his appointment

sincere apology for his ill-judged remarks. It all added up to a tough Twitter lesson but a situation that even now comes as something of a surprise when Neville’s humour is normally limited to a nice line in self-deprecation.

How many players, after all, would admit to being handed back their Manchester United shirt by the Barcelona kit-man after knocking on the dressing room to see if someone, preferably Lionel Messi, would swap shirts?

Clearly things were different in 2011. Neville was a professional footballer, the captain of Everton, and a young man who perhaps did not appreciate the consequences of posting comments that some might find offensive.

It went pretty much unchallenged at the time but this is becoming an all too familiar story. As the former British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton yesterday tweeted: ‘If you’re aiming to be a public figure in a high-profile job, DELETE all your social media NOW.’

In fairness to Neville, he made no attempt to make light of the matter yesterday and neither did the FA, issuing a detailed statement that included a warning to their newest employee about his future conduct.

Of course, the situation could have been handled better by the FA given the sensitivities surrounding the departure of former England women’s coach Mark Sampson.

Some proper due diligence would have uncovered those historic posts for a start, and so enabled the governing body to take the lead rather than be forced, yet again, into crisis mode.

But the FA also deserve a bit of sympathy for the criticism they have received for a football decision that led them to recruit Neville.

As we now know, finding a permanent successor to Sampson proved problematic and Neville’s appointment does highlight both the lack of opportunities for English female football coaches and the dearth of credible candidates.

But to accuse the FA of a lack of transparency, and pressure them into revealing that Neville was actually something of a Plan B, is a little perplexing when it has never been an issue in the past; when the appointment of an England coach has always been shrouded in secrecy.

And for good reason when it avoids the embarrassment they endured following their failed attempt to recruit Luiz Felipe Scolari of Brazil.

Some object to the fact that Neville did not apply for the job. Nor did Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. And complaints about Neville’s lack of managerial experience when being given such a high- profile job should also be challenged.

Was the same fuss made last week when Ryan Giggs was appointed by Wales? Or when the Welsh turned to Mark Hughes or Gary Speed?

The Dutch appointed a 36-yearold Frank Rijkaard as manager, despite his only previously having been an assistant, and he guided