NOW that a third football club – Oldham Athletic – has bowed to public pressure and stepped away from signing him, convicted rapist Ched Evans has finally expressed some remorse.

In a carefully-worded statement, no doubt scripted by a lawyer, he has maintained his claim of innocence, but gone on to "wholeheartedly apologise for the effects that night in Rhyl has had on many people, not least the woman concerned".

The question is why it has taken so long for that apology to be made.

We appreciate the legal limitations facing Evans while his planned appeal against the rape conviction is being referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The advice he was given would have been not to say anything which could jeopardise his chances of having the conviction quashed.

But if he can issue a legally-acceptable apology now, why couldn't that same step have been taken much earlier?

Sheffield United, Hartlepool United and Oldham Athletic have all felt the strength of public opinion after raising the prospect of signing Evans, and sponsors have also threatened to withdraw their support.

Being a professional footballer is not an ordinary job. It is a privileged occupation, an important part of which is being a role model. Under Football League and Premier League rules, sex offenders are not considered "fit and proper" to be football club directors. It is hard to see why that should not be extended to professional players.

Regardless of whether it is fair or not, it should by now be clear to any football club that Ched Evans is toxic. In the age of social media, opposition has got wildly out of hand but it is abundantly clear that supporters do not want their club to sign a convicted rapist, especially one who has taken so long to express even a degree of contrition.

And the only way that will change is if he produces new evidence to convince an appeal court that he is not a rapist.