Casey Stoney, the Manchester United Women manager, invited a social-media and mental-health specialist to help her players cope with the increased scrutiny caused by the game’s growing profile.

Stoney welcomed fans’ criticism of performances but warned that it was “a big wake-up call” for many players.

Earlier this season, Keira Walsh, the Manchester City and England midfielder, revealed that criticism of her World Cup campaign had left her considering quitting football.

Stoney said: “You’re going to get the same judgment [as male players]. The difference is the male players are used to it. The women’s game isn’t used to it, and it’s a big wake-up call for a lot of them because they read it.

“We’ve had social-media training several times. We’ve brought in someone to talk to them about it. We’ve also got an external well-being coach who’s in every single day with our first team and academy and works with our staff. We have one-to-ones with our players every six weeks. We know that there are pressures inside and outside of football.

“Social media is the best and worst thing that could have happened because they cannot get away from it. I choose to get away from it because I don’t read it – but telling an 18, 19, 20-year-old that, when their entire worth, value, is how many likes they get, how many people follow them… For young people today, that’s where their worth is, and that’s a little bit frightening.”