What Gary Neville said at his Valencia presentation
Thursday, December 3, 2015
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Gary Neville is looking forward to working with his brother Phil at Valencia, and said he has had some encouraging words from Sir Alex Ferguson as he moved to Spain.
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Gary Neville made his first formal engagement as Valencia coach as he met the press at a conference on Thursday afternoon. This is what the former Manchester United and England defender had to say.
On his mission at Valencia
Everything that I do I do with the aspiration to do the absolute best, it is the way I've approached everything I've done and this will be no different. No holding back, Valencia will get every ounce of enthusiasm I can give. Hopefully that can lead to success. I'm aware of the expectation and I know that if I fall below it I won't be here.
On his choice of assistant
I want to announce that Phil Neville will work with me and my second coach will be Miguel Ángel Angulo, a legend of this club. I've had a lot of conversations with the club and I want to underline that he is not here to satisfy the cub but to work with me and make decisions about the squad and the starting lineup.
Phil and Angulo will form a crucial part of the technical team. I won't be a dictator.
I don't see any problems [about working with Phil]. If Phil wasn't here, I would want him here. He's diligent, hard-working and from my point of view I'm delighted he's going to be here. We have worked together professionally for the last 25 years and it won't be a problem.
I have spoken to Phil about the players and Phil speaks very highly of the squad in terms of their enthusiasm. He says they are very dedicated and he has a lot of confidence in each one of them. He's seen a lot of technical talent. But the most important thing for me is that they are hard-working.
On his tactical plans
I'm not going to insult Valencia and come here and say we're going to try and play like United. I've got to come here and play like Valencia football club. I had great experience with United. Everyone wants to play attractive football but I also want to win.
I'm very aware of the traditions of Valencia and how they play. I played here a few times against some spectacular Valencia wingers. But instead of picking the best style and thinking about wing play it's important for me to evaluate the squad and pick the best players to win the matches we have rather than pick a style for every game. We don't have any pre-season; we have no time and we have some very important games coming up. I need to select the right players regardless of style.
I've only known one way in football which is to expect to win every match. You can't always do that but that's what you should expect. It's what I expect and what a club of this size expects, and the fans too.
On his commitment to the club
Football is permanent. The only way to approach any football job is to view it as a long-term job. For me the most important thing is the present. We will promote from within. I don't want to bring in a load of coaches from my country or anywhere else.
My family will move here. When I was at Manchester United, I always wanted foreign players to integrate into the local culture and the city. You have to immerse yourself in the culture and the city. I think that's vital.
On why he chose Valencia
When I was a player, this was a horrible place for an opposing team to play football. I have seen how intimidating it can be and that's the challenge – to make the fans excited and make them ferocious.
I've been offered jobs in football in the last four and five years but the timing was never right and I wanted to give myself the time to learn. When I received the call on Sunday evening I thought: 'What a football club. What a challenge.' from my point of view, talking about coaches on television, the time has come for me to stand up. If I had turned down this job I could have said goodbye to credibility in football because this is an unbelievable club and I'm so proud to be here.
On Sir Alex Ferguson
I didn't talk to [Sir Alex Ferguson] on whether to take the job – that was something I decided with my family and alone. But I did speak to him in the last few days and he offered his support and encouragement and offered me advice going forward. I'd be silly not to take that advice. It would be ignorant for me not to take advice from people with a lot of experience in football and Spanish football.
How big an influence was Sir Alex? It wasn't just Ferguson but the assistants too. My four years out of football have been the biggest influence on how I work – working with so many different people in different businesses, making decisions that affect lives and working with Roy Hodgson and England. I've matured as a person and a coach.
On the language issue
Language is important. I don't speak it – it wasn't in the plan. I have a slight problem in that I can't find a teacher who'll get up at six in the morning and give me lessons. I saw Phil speaking today at training and Phil has a great sense of communication and I have to show the same amount of commitment.
I have to pick up a few key phrases as soon as possible. I'm aware of the responsibility of assimilating quickly.