The atmosphere of the football dressing rooms I first came into in 1987 was one constructed around macho, masculine archetypes, and designed to stop the players from showing any form of weakness. Supporting that was a strict hierarchy, with coaches at the top, and young players at the bottom – respect and obedience were crucial components.

As in all sports – and many other ways of life, I’m sure – players had to be willing to run through walls for their coaches, to carry out instructions, all in order to secure the success of the group. In such a system, it should come as no surprise that young people are vulnerable to sexual abuse, and also that they should feel unable to come forward at the time it was happening. It would not only have disrupted the hierarchy, but it would be an admission of weakness – two things that will single you out within the dressing room.

While I never experienced abuse, and can’t imagine what a damaging effect this would have on your life, I did experience the pressure this culture puts on you to blend in, to not stand out, and to appear strong. My mother died when I was 13 and I didn’t even feel comfortable telling my coaches or fellow players. People would ask about my family, what they did for a living, and I’d say that my mum was a home-maker – the fear that any admission about what had happened to her would leave me exposed and singled out was too great. I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would be for someone to admit to an experience so painful and so raw as the victims of sexual predators suffered.

And then there is the all too common, and terribly damaging, conflation of homosexuality and paedophilia. This was clear from the words of one of the footballers to come forward, who said he was confused and asked, “Why me?” He used to think “Am I gay?” because the culture was that there were no gays in football. It’s completely different now, but if it had come out then he would have been hammered.

The cultural pressures were so strong that the abuse he suffered not only made him question his own sexuality, but made him terrified of how his team-mates would react if he was gay. Things might have changed, but you still have idiots like Eric Bristow repeating age-old nonsense that abusers are “poofs”. At least the reaction to it shows that society, and sport, will no longer put up with people voicing such views.

Players must feel comfortable coming forward, and clubs must allow outside agencies in to help

And football has changed. The FA and the NSPCC have done a great deal of work to make sure the right safeguards are in place. All coaches must now be checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service (previously the Criminal Records Bureau); there are systems in place for players to come forward. But the reaction of some of the clubs involved in these revelations shows much work still needs to be done – and it can’t just be carried out by the authorities.

The initial denials and refusal to investigate show there is still a deep-rooted culture in some parts of the game that doesn’t want to face up to what has happened, and the responsibilities we all have to our young people. It’s now up to the clubs to take up this challenge, embrace independent investigations into what has gone on, and how it can be prevented from ever happening again.

Coaches must be at the heart of this. Children are put in their care, a huge amount of responsibility is placed on their shoulders, and they have a huge amount of power over their charges. It is crucial they are properly prepared to deal with that. Many young players may come from difficult home lives, and coaches have a role almost akin to that of a social worker.

They should be able to recognise signs of abuse at home, to offer support to young people, and to ensure that any admission of difficulties in their personal life isn’t perceived as a sign of weakness. This means clubs working closely with organisations such as the NSPCC to train their staff to deal with these complicated problems. But they must also be open to scrutiny from independent bodies.

Where there’s such a gulf in power, as the strict hierarchy of football demands, then there will be opportunities for predators. To ensure that can’t happen in the future players must feel comfortable coming forward, and clubs must allow outside agencies in to help.

The players who have come forward have shown incredible courage. They have done so not just to ensure that perpetrators are exposed, but to help subsequent generations of young footballers from ever suffering similar crimes. It is now the duty of the whole of football, and society, to ensure nobody suffers like that again.