On Wednesday, in the pre-match press conference before his team faced Bangladesh in the first of the two World Cup qualifiers it is playing over the next week, he looked by turns embarrassed and at times frustrated at the position he had been put in as questions on the issue dominated the early minutes of the media session.

Postecoglou is a proud man who has achieved a lot in his short tenure in charge of the Socceroos, notably that Asian Cup success in January.

He knows his own mind, he brooks no interference and he doesn't suffer fools, so such a public climbdown has hurt him and his pride. It could not be any other way.

It is a fair question to ask how his relationship with his employers will develop from here, and whether things can ever be the same between the coach and the FFA again given his nature and the manner in which he was muzzled.

From the FFA's point of view this was an issue that the coach should not have got involved in, especially if he was going to equally apportion blame over the disintegrating relations between the union,  the PFA,  and the governing body.

It is possible to see the retraction as a test of strength between FFA chief David Gallop and the hugely popular national team coach, with Gallop asserting that it is he, not Postecoglou, who calls the shots.

The FFA is a very sensitive body where its commercial affairs are concerned.

Money is an issue for the game, and Gallop and his fellow executives are acutely aware of the perception generated by the players boycotting sponsor events in such straitened circumstances.

The Socceroos, despite their success, have no naming rights sponsor.

Its either a reflection of a poor performance by the FFA's marketing team, or a grim reminder that despite that success, the national team does not look like an attractive proposition for major corporations at the price tag the FFA is seeking.

The days when the Socceroos were the rainmakers and generated most of the game's money are, for now, gone. The A-League provides the bulk of the TV product; Socceroos matches inevitably take place in poor time slots and even against big teams ratings for fixtures at 2am are not going to be anywhere near the level of those for a Melbourne or Sydney A-League derby.

For Gallop the players wiping sponsors was one thing. The coach appearing to put the blame just as much on the governing body as the union was another.

Within the FFA there is a belief that Postecoglou has been given a lot of leeway in his personal media freedoms, with appearances on television, in newspapers and on the ABC and given that experience he should have known how this would play out.

For his part the coach was merely answering honestly a question posed to him in a background briefing ahead of the game. His answer spoke volumes about the frustration he felt and the disruption he believes the dispute has this week caused in camp as players fly in from all over the world to be used as pawns in a row which is, really, much more about the A-League than anything else.

In a world where increasing numbers of sportsmen and coaches simply provide bland answers and meaningless spin, it was refreshing to hear someone of his stature speak from the heart, even if it was a message that grated with the governing body.

The FFA pays Postecoglou's wages, so they have every right to take him to task. But whether doing so in such a public fashion was a smart move is a matter for conjecture.

The gesture may have been aimed far more at sponsors who were offended by the players action, the governing body making it clear to them that they were taking a tough stand.

And Postecoglou may well, on reflection, have chosen to handle the question differently if asked it again.

But the public perception is now there that the strong and successful relationship between an independent minded coach who has been given a lot of support but has delivered results on the field may have been compromised.

The sooner the dispute between the union and the FFA is resolved, the better for all.