Steph Houghton happy to hear more home truths from Phil Neville as England prepare to kick off World Cup campaign

When Phil Neville was unexpectedly appointed England coach, one of the criticisms that most irked him was the idea that, because he had never worked in the women’s game, he could not coach women. His view, confirmed by a discussion with his sister, Tracey – coach to England’s netball team – was that players are players, regardless of gender.

While there are specific issues pertaining to the women’s game, especially medical, Neville has seen nothing to change his initial view and has treated his players as he would male ones. Which means, when he feels the need to reach into the memory banks and summon up Sir Alex Ferguson’s hairdryer, he doesn’t hold back.

One such occasion was the SheBelieves Cup tie against Brazil in Chester, Pennsylvania, in February, and the player on the receiving end was the captain. “I got an absolute bollocking,” said Steph Houghton, recalling the England coach’s fury, “[he was] shouting, kicking stuff.”

The choice of Houghton also echoed Ferguson. It is easy for a manager to bawl out a junior player, braver and more effective to dig out a senior one. Houghton is mature enough to recognise that. “I have to take that,” she said. “I am going to be used as an example.”

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Houghton admits she had not played well, adding in mitigation that she had played three games in a week for Manchester City, then travelled across the Atlantic. That did not cut any ice with Neville.

There is another excuse she did not use: that she and her husband, former Bolton Wanderers player Stephen Darby, were dealing with the latter’s diagnosis with incurable motor neurone disease. Houghton is grateful for the support Neville and the others in the England camp have provided, but would not expect or want to be treated any differently when it came to her performances.

‘He showed faith in me’

A surprise choice when made skipper by Mark Sampson, as she was just 25, Neville did not hesitate to retain Houghton. “Me and Phil have a great relationship,” she said. “When he came in, you don’t know how it’s going to work. Whether I’ll still be captain. But he nailed that the first day he met us in La Manga. That really settled me. He showed faith in me, not just as a player but also a leader. One thing I’ve learnt from him is that you have to let your football do the talking.

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“This season, especially, I’ve focused so much on playing well and improving my game, and with that then comes the leadership, on and off the pitch. He never used to cut corners as a player and that’s why he had the career he did. He’s a great example of how to be successful.”