Right, that’s it from me. Be sure to stick around on site for more reports and reaction.
And that’s that. Neville spoke very well and was keen to emphasise his understanding of the expectations of supporters and the size of the club. Perhaps the most interesting section of the press conference was when he was asked how he would appraise a similar situation in England as a pundit:
“I would question it as a neutral observer. I’d be sceptical. I understand I’ve got to prove to the Valencia fans and players that I’m capable of doing this job. Doubts will only be removed by winning football matches.”
Q (though more of a statement): “A report in England says Jose Mourinho is going to come here in the summer.”
Neville: “The president’s right here! I don’t appoint the next coach.”
Chan Lay Hoon: “It’s disrespectful to Gary to talk about another coach at this time. If you go back to my press conference on Monday I believe I have answered your question.”
Q: “What are the positives you’ve seen from watching Valencia games. And the weaknesses?”
Neville: “In the last few weeks it’s confidence and belief that has faltered slightly. In terms of what I’m excited by, I’ve seen qualities in all of the players, they wouldn’t be here otherwise. They all start with a clean slate, they all have an equal opportunity.”
Q: “January transfer window: have you spoken to top brass about new players?”
Neville: “No, I haven’t. The idea of a coach talking about players who aren’t at the club would disgust me. The players here are the ones wearing the shirt. It’s not a consideration. I work with the players we have.”
“It’s easy to make decisions on young players too soon, to say: ‘We need to buy players.’ I’m very patient. I will make no decision that isn’t a long term decision.”
Q: “Top three managers you admire?”
Nevillie: “It’s very dangerous to talk about favourites, because then you alienate others. I don’t like comparisons, to be honest.”
Q: “Have you had conversations about possibility of a sporting director at the club?”
Neville: “I’ve seen sporting directors work and not work. It’s about the quality of the individuals involved, and having clear roles and responsibilities. I’m very clear about my role this season.”
Two more questions!
Q: Henry Winter, I think: “Were you picking up ideas from Hodgson, Ferguson etc, during your playing career?”
Neville: “Not necessarily taking notes but always remembering and noticing what was good. You rememeber their traits, their mannerisms, what you liked, what you didn’t like. For my management style the last four or five years outside of football will be the main influence. The last five years, I feel, have been the time that I’ve needed to develop and mature as a person to have the confidence to take a role of this stature.”
“When I played here in the late 90s and early 2000s this was a horrible place to play in for visiting teams. That is the ultimate: to get the fans excited, to get them as ferocious as they were when we came here all those years ago, when it was hard to get a shot on target, never mind score a goal.”
Q: “Can you kickstart the long-term plan of the club?”
Neville: “I think obviously the absolute intention is to deliver success straight away, that has to be the case at a club of Valencia’s size. It’s a rollercoaster, clubs go through periods that are less good than others. The owners are committed to long-term success. I can’t think short-term, it wouldn’t be me.”
Message fans? Neville just hit that one out the park. That will go down very well with supporters here. "They're demanding? They should be."
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) December 3, 2015
Q: “What about Salford City? How involved will you be?”
Neville: “I don’t play for them! I have lots of interests in the UK but for the time being they are parked. Salford has a 14 person committee, it’s got a coaching staff, it’s got three other owners who live very close to the ground. My input is minimal in that sense. The club runs itself extremely well.”
Q: “Did you seek advice from Sir Alex before taking job? Will you look for advice from him in future?”
Neville: “No, I didn’t consult him about taking the job. I made the decision myself with my family. I have spoken to him in the last few days. He offered support and advice and encouragement. It would be ignorant of me not to listen to that advice [from Ferguson and other coaches such as Hodgson].”
Updated
Q: “A message for the fans?”
Neville: “The fans at a football club are the most important people at the club. I know the Valencia fans are demanding fans and they should be demanding. It’s up to us on the coaching side to meet those demands.”
Q: “What’s the minimum demand for the season?”
Neville: “I’ve only ever been one way in football and that’s to win every match.” He adds that’s not really possible, but that’s what they should aim for.
Updated
Q: This sounds like Sid! “How do expect communication to go in the short term? Does Angulo speak English, for example?”
Neville: “A lot of the coaching team speak English but to be clear I expect myself to turn more Valencian not them to become more English. I’ll expect the players to assist. At Old Trafford players were excellent at helping people settle in. I’m aware I have to pick up key phrases as quickly as possible and learn as quickly as possible.”
Q: “Presentation of the previous manager involved questions about relationship with Peter Lim and lack of experience. Similar questions can be asked of you. What do you make of those challenges?”
Neville: “Relationship with Peter Lim is not a challenge, there’s no challenge there. As for experience, we’ve all seen inexperienced coaches succeed, we’ve all seen experienced coaches fail. There’s no magic formula.”
Q: “Is there a long-term aim? England? Manchester United?”
Neville: “From a long-term perspective … I would never look at it like that. I’m focussed on training sessions on Sunday and Monday. Where I am in five years time is an irrelevance at the moment.”
And as for the England issue: “When I spoke to Roy [Hodgson] he was incredibly supportive and positive. I was inspired by the conversation I had with him. We’ve got two games in March in an international break. Most of that week players tend to be off. I wanted to complete my job, certainly through to the European Championships. Everyone has been understanding that Valencia will be my main focus 95-99% of the time.”
Q: “Not on bench versus Barcelona - why? And how will you balance duties of England national team?”
Neville gives a brief timeline of the week. Sunday evening: first contact made. Monday evening: accepted. Tuesday: discussed logistics. Wednesday: appointment.
They felt that preparation for Barcelona should be consistent during the week
Q: “What kind of football can we expect? Will it have any similarities with Sir Alex Ferguson?
Neville: “I’m not going to insult Valencia FC by telling them that I’m going to come over here and get them playing football like Manchester United. I’ve got to play football in the traditions of Valencia. My experience with Sir Alex are valuable. Every coach wants to play attacking attractive football but you also have to win.”
Q: “What would you have said as a pundit on MNF if a Spanish pundit had got one of the top jobs in English football with no experience and no language?”
Neville: “I would question it as a neutral observer. I’d be sceptical. I understand I’ve got to prove to the Valencia fans and players that I’m capable of doing this job. Doubts will only be removed by winning football matches.”
Q: “What has Phil said about the squad? What do you make of the squad?”
Neville: “He speak very highly of them. Confidence has been an issue over the past few weeks, but that happens at clubs.
“In terms of advice, Phil and Angulo form part of the coaching team – it won’t be a dictatorial approach.”
Updated
Q: “What have you said to players today?”
Neville: “It was very simple. I didn’t want to confuse them as they have an incredibly important match against Barcelona at the weekend. They don’t want to be contaminated by too many words from me. It was just to say that I’ll be giving my best, and that I expect the same from them.”
Q: “How do you envisage working with your brother? Any apprehension?”
Neville: “I don’t see any problems. If Phil wasn’t here I would want him here. He’s diligent, hard-working, talented. I’m delighted he’s here. My conversations with Phil over the last few days have been about advice, information, when we’re going to train. There’s no element of negativity at all.”
“I’ve had offers and nothing seemed quite right. When I received the call on Sunday evening I thought: ‘What a club, what an opportunity, what a challenge. The time has now come for me to stand up. This is a wonderful football club. If I’d turned down this job I could’ve said goodbye to credibility [as a pundit].
“Spanish is going to be my biggest challenge as I don’t speak the language. I will take lessons every day. I have a problem - I can’t find a Spanish teacher who will get up at 6am for lessons.”
Updated
“Why here? Why now? How’s your Spanish?” asks a journalist from the UK.
“My family will move over here permanently. My girls will finish school in Manchester in a couple of weeks and move over to Valencia with my wife. As a player I always wanted [team-mates] to immerse themselves in the club and the city, and it’s important that I show that commitment.”
Neville: “You have to approach every job as a permanent job. Every decision I make will be a long-term decision. I’m not interested in bringing over an army of coaches. I’m going to promote from within, as I have done this morning.”
Next question, also from a Spanish journalist: “Two questions: what’s the correct pronunciation of your name? [”Neville,” replies Neville] and might you stay beyond the summer?”
“I wasn’t expecting that as the first question,” says Neville. “I’m very aware of the traditions. I understand my responsibility is to appraise the players over the coming weeks. We’ve got important matches coming up and we’ve got to pick the right team irrespective of style.”
The first question from the floor: “Valencia has always been traditionally associated with strong wing play … can you implement that wing play that always characterised the club? And do you have the players to do it?” Straight to the big issues of the day then …
“One thing to announce is the coaches: one is my brother Phil and [Miguel Ángel] Angulo, coach of the Under 19s.” Neville stresses that Angulo’s appointment isn’t a sop to appease local fans but an important appointment to strengthen the club.
Neville first gives a statement: “I’m incredibly excited to be here. I understand the passion and intimidation of the fans and I want to recreate that and harness that in the coming months.”
First up, though, is Chan Lay Hoon, the Valencia president. “We have known Gary for many years and we something very special in him. This appointment is not about nationality, not about his relationship with Peter Lim.”
For more on Lim and Neville, take a look at David Conn’s piece here:
Here we go then: Neville strides out to meet the media for the first time as Valencia manager.
Waiting for Neville pic.twitter.com/SVWvNhCxW5
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) December 3, 2015
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka swapped Spain for Teesside in 2013 and has been speaking about the challenges facing Neville in Spain: “I don’t think it is going to be easy for him, but I hope that he is successful there because that would be good for everybody – for Valencia, for Gary and for English coaches in general. If English coaches can go to Spain and be successful in a different country, that can only be good for English football.”
Our man in Spain, Dr Sid Lowe, is at the Mestalla for the unveiling:
Valencia have a trophy manager pic.twitter.com/JvNPMLf86L
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) December 3, 2015
Preamble
After Wednesday’s announcement of Gary Neville’s appointment as the new head coach of Valencia, the club are on Thursday officially unveiling the former Manchester United defender (a process that sadly does not involve a drum roll and the removing of a large dust sheet from Neville’s head).
Valencia aren’t exactly a byword for stability in La Liga. Here’s Sid Lowe’s take on what awaits him at the Mestalla:
Neville becomes the 14th coach in a decade of institutional instability at Valencia. This is a club with two stadiums: one they could not sell and one that they could not afford to finish building, long gripped by economic crisis and internecine battles, where presidents too have come and gone, a club that came to be effectively owned by a bailed-out bank.
His England coaching role “will not be in any way affected” by the job according to Roy Hodgson, though as Dominic Fifield has pointed out, this does raise some issues:
It is the timing some might question. England recently completed a pristine European qualification and will approach Saturday week’s draw for the finals with relish. They have a young, exciting squad who have undoubtedly enjoyed working with a man whose feats as a player, eight Premier League titles and a European Cup, are still fresh, even in their memories. But if Neville’s role with England will not be affected by the reality “that he will be coaching abroad during the next five months”, as Hodgson suggested, then what input was he providing to the national set-up?
And there is also the issue of who is to replace him in the Sky Sports studio. Owen Gibson takes a look at the contenders:
They might include existing Sky talent including Thierry Henry, who had a mixed start following his big money arrival on the punditry sofa and will now be further exposed, or one-off guests. The likes of Roberto Martinez, Howard Webb and Frank Lampard have already appeared as guests on the programme this season.
The press conference is scheduled to begin at 3pm BST.
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