Gary Neville the coach admitted that Gary Neville the pundit would have been sceptical about his appointment at Valencia but insisted had he not taken the job at Mestalla when it was offered to him on Sunday night he would have lost his credibility. He said he had previously turned down other positions in football but that, after four years talking about managers on television, it was time to get off the sofa and prove he could be a manager, too.
This is Neville’s first managerial position – at a big and difficult club and in a country where he does not speak the language – yet he insisted, as he was officially unveiled by Valencia, that he had confidence in his ability. He promised he would give “every ounce of energy” to succeeding, despite continuing with the England national team. He did not, however, confirm he would continue beyond the end of his contract, which is only six months long. In fact, he appeared to imply his stay here would be a short one.
Asked what he would have said had he been sitting in the Sky TV studio witnessing a man like him taking such a position, Neville admitted: “I would question it as a neutral observer.” He said he could imagine people fishing out the clips of him passing judgment on men in similar positions over the years and that he now had to take that step himself. “I won’t shy away from that direct approach I had on television,” he said.
“I would be sceptical and I would want [the manager] to prove otherwise,” Neville admitted. “I understand over here that I have got to prove to the Valencia fans, to the players, too, that I am capable of doing that job. And any doubts, any concerns, any reservations that people have can only be removed through winning football matches.
“Sitting on television these last few years talking about coaches, the time has now come for me to stand up. This is a wonderful football club. I am precious about what I take on and what I associate myself with but if I had turned this down I could have said goodbye to my credibility,” he said.
“I have to prove myself, I have to show that people should not think I am a risky appointment. I have to provide the answers on the football pitch.”
He added: “I have been offered jobs in football over the last four or five years and the timing has never felt right. I wanted to give myself [time] but when I received the call on Sunday evening I thought: ‘What a football club, what an opportunity, what a challenge’.”
It is one that he will combine with the England national team but Neville did not see that as problematic, either for club or country.
“When I spoke to Roy Hodgson he was incredibly supportive and positive and enthusiastic for me, and I was inspired by the conversation. He understands that this is a big opportunity. He was 100% I should do it,” Neville said.
“We have the two games in March in an international break and most of that week players tend to be off three or four days. I wanted to complete my job, certainly through to the European Championships. Everyone understands that Valencia will be my priority for 95% of the time but that doesn’t stop me talking on the phone to Roy and the rest of the staff. I have a lot of hours in the day.”
Neville announced the former Valencia midfielder Miguel Ángel Angulo will leave the club’s under-19s to join him as assistant coach for the first team, alongside Neville’s brother, Phil, and insisted he did not have any intention of going into the winter transfer window. “We will appoint people from within; I am not interested in bringing over an army of coaches,” he said.
He refused to talk about his ultimate ambitions. When he was asked about suggestions José Mourinho could take over next season, he referred the question to the club’s president, Layhoon Chan, noting: “I don’t appoint the next manager.
“The only way to approach any football job is to think of it as a permanent job even if we know it is only six months,” he said.
