Phil Neville is under fire for offensive tweets just hours after being appointed England women's manager

The appointment of Phil Neville as manager of the England women’s football team is an odd one.

The former Manchester United and Everton player has no managerial experience, limited coaching experience of any kind, and no senior coaching experience within the women’s game.

On top of that, it has been claimed he didn’t even apply for the job.

It’s hard to think how the appointment – made after the dismissal of predecessor Mark Sampson for alleged inappropriate content in a previous job, and amid the fallout from a bullying storm – could have gone much worse.

However, football always finds a way. 

Neville has deactivated his Twitter account after old tweets resurfaced, bringing about complaints of sexism which many feel is at odds with how a manager of the England women’s team should behave.

It took less than an hour after his appointment for Neville’s past comments to be brought up, though others have mentioned their surprise that none of this seemingly came up during the FA’s due diligence.

While some on social media suggested his job could be under threat almost immediately, it looks like he is safe for now, but he will be joined by high-profile female assistants before taking charge of his first game.

According to The Times, former international captain Casey Stoney is in line to join Neville’s coaching team as an assistant manager.

Stoney, who made her international debut in 2000, is familiar with the national side and its players, having also turned out at club level for the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.

However it remains to be seen how she, and indeed the players in the national set-up, will respond to Neville’s past.

(Images: Rex/Twitter)