News of Gary Neville's appointment as the manager of Valencia spread rapidly yesterday once it had been announced. The former Manchester United player and Sky Sports football analyst takes over the reins from Nuno Espirito Santo following a poor early start to the season for the Spanish side.
Neville did not hesitate in getting down to business as he greeted the players and held his press conference within almost 24 hours of being announced as Valencia's new boss.
CLUB | @GNev2 visits with Layhoon Chan the Ciudad Deportiva. FULL VIDEO -> https://t.co/88FmUfoRJY https://t.co/VE7UPnYhtU
— Valencia CF English (@valenciacf_en) December 3, 2015
Neville joins his brother Phil, who was assistant manager to the outgoing Espirito Santo and will remain in that position under his brother, but Gary will not take over until after the Barcelona game at the weekend as he deemed it "unprofessional" to give the players a brand new voice prior to such a big game.
Given the fact that the English man speaks no Spanish he is keen to learn but says that he will have to find a Spanish teacher willing to get up at 6AM in order to give him lessons. He insists that he expects himself to "turn more Valencian and I don't expect the staff to turn more English."
Some more interesting quotes from Neville's first press conference
On his brother Phil: "I don't see any problems. If Phil wasn't here I'd want him here. He's diligent, hard-working and talented. We don't do niceties, we talk about actions."
On Valencia: "Over the last few weeks, confidence has been an issue but that happens at every club."
"Why here? Why now? When I received the call on Sunday evening, I thought 'What a club, what an opportunity, what a challenge!?'"
"Philip and Angulo, the under-19's coach and a Valencia legend will form part of the coaching team, it certainly will not be a dictatorial approach."
Neville was also asked what Gary Neville the pundit would think of an inexperienced Spanish manager getting a top English job and responded, "I'd be sceptical. I understand I've got to prove to Valencia's fans and the players that I can do the job."
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