Fossil Phil Neville should leave the dark ages

What a dinosaur former footballer Phil Neville is.

After 15 years of marriage, he proudly admits he has never tackled a single piece of housework. I guess this makes you feel a real lad, Phil. The envy of all your mates.

The guy who says ‘no’ to anything as simple as loading the dishwasher, turning on the oven, dusting the furniture or pushing a vacuum cleaner around the floor.

And of course you have no idea where the ironing board lives or how bathrooms get cleaned. It’s all too menial for a top-class footballer, isn’t it?

Phil played for Manchester United at a time when the club won six Premier League titles and has 59 caps for England. He’s a talented and successful guy.

But last week he admitted he’d had to “sprint into the kitchen and phone his wife Julie to ask her how to make a cup of coffee” when he was being interviewed by a sports journalist at the couple’s £3.6m home in Cheshire.

“I’ve lived in a bubble all my life” he laughed.

You’re right there, Phil. And Julie has clearly allowed it.

She backs him all the way. No, he doesn’t put the bins out or mow the lawn. And she prides herself on being “super-domestic” so it doesn’t bother her.

I really thought the days of the hapless, helpless male were over. But clearly not so.

While there are men who are proud of their domestic ineptitude and while there are women who see nothing wrong with that, the stereotype will continue. But it just seems so dated.

Most of the men I know have evolved over the years and take on their share of cleaning and household maintenance.

They might not be award winners with a duster or a mop but they’re prepared to tackle most things.

When two people in a relationship are working, weekends are usually ‘catch up’ time for a bit of housework. And it makes sense to share it that way they both have a chance to relax and enjoy some down-time together.

Teenage children too should be encouraged to do their bit (under protest usually) to keep their living space clean and tidy. It helps if they flat-share to know that grime is easily removed with some cleaning products and a bit of elbow grease.

My 19-year-old grandson is enjoying living in his first student flat. He shops and cooks his own meals, cleans up afterwards and thinks nothing of it.

The world has moved on. Back in the day, so much of the job of running the home was considered ‘women’s work’ but not any more.

I hold my hands up and admit I pampered my sons a little too much but thankfully they have wives who have encouraged them (if not insisted) that in a modern marriage sharing is the name of the game. And why not?

So Phil and men like you come out of the dark ages. Don’t be a stranger to a mop or a kettle. You never know when you might need them.