Phil Neville may not have had the best start as the Lionesses’ manager but he did speak out for his players after the SheBelieves Cup in America this week.

They actually did well, wining one, drawing one and losing a tight game against the hosts.

He was critical of the Football Association this week when his players were flown in standard class to the USA and across the country as well.

The male players and staff fly business class and are treated properly, so he was disappointed to see they were flown in that way. He thought it was degrading in 2018 and Neville has stood up to challenge that.

He’s been part of it as a player and knows exactly how they’re treated. People have seen the good in him for this, especially after the poor start to the job. This is great PR for him, obviously.

But he is actually looking after the welfare and wellbeing of his players and why shouldn’t he. There’s obviously more money in the men’s game but Neville is saying there’s no difference in the preparation and he has a point.

The FA have committed to put more money into the game and the only way you get young girls into it is if you have successful team. This is part of it – they have a high-profile manager and have players who are playing at the highest level in the women’s game.

So why are they scrimping and saving on a major thing like travel?

They must be doing it on other things too.

If you have below-average preparation then you’ll have below average results.