It’s been a couple of months since ‘Gary Neville’s Valencia’ went back to being called ‘Valencia’ again.
After impressing more or less everyone in his role as a pundit on Sky Sport’s Monday Night Football, there were raised eyebrows aplenty when Neville decided to take the managerial post at the Spanish club last December.
Clearly, things didn’t quite go to plan, and the former Manchester United captain was on a plane home under four months later.
With Neville now concentrating on helping Roy Hodgson steer England to Euro 2016 glory, his former goalkeeper at the Mestalla has explained why he thinks things it didn’t work out for him in La Liga.
Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, who will face England with Australia this week, explained that Neville’s decision to start his managerial career at a club as big as Valencia might have gone against him.
“It was a tough job going into a foreign country and trying to change a club like Valencia.
“It is a club that is a close knit family. The fans are Valencia people and it is a hard culture to break in to.
“His back was up against the wall from the moment he took charge and unfortunately for him we were not able to get the results we needed.
“It was unfortunate it ended the way it did. I still have the utmost respect for him and what he has achieved as a coach and what he will achieve in the future.
“The biggest thing was results. When they are not there the pressure grows. Coaches are the most cut-throat victims of this game.”
But with all this said, the 24-year-old was keen to stress that his old boss can resurrect his career later down the line.
“He can definitely be a good manager in the future. It is like a player who makes a mistake. It doesn’t mean he can’t learn and move on and become better.
“You just have to go and keep doing it. He has enough coaching qualities and knowledge to make it happen.
“He will lean from his time at Valencia. He has a fair bit of experience with the national team.
“Coming up against him will be quite funny after him being the coach. He was in charge for four months and I saw him every day and got to know him well. It will be good to see him.”
