Tuesday 15 December 2015 09:51, UK
Gary Neville talks Manchester United, England, British coaches abroad and his Valencia targets in a Sky Sports exclusive.
The new Valencia head coach - who secured his first La Liga point at the weekend following a midweek defeat to Lyon that saw his side exit the Champions League - lifted the lid to Guillem Balague in a special extended interview, including admitting that he did not see himself as a future Manchester United boss.
Former Old Trafford skipper Neville, speaking before a 1-1 draw at Eibar, also reflects on media scrutiny, his coaching credentials and learning a new language.
Read on as Neville tackles a string of topics - and watch the video of the best bits above...
On why he took the job...
"It's too good of an opportunity to turn down. If I sit there on TV talking about British coaching, the lack of British coaches, and in the next breath turn down the opportunity to manage a Champions League club - a top-four club in Spain - you lose all credibility.
"I had a great job on Sky, an unbelievable job and the most difficult thing is to give that up because to go and watch games every Sunday and commentate on them or just do punditry is safe in a way. I just feel this was the right decision and that for five months, six months, I'm going to have the experience of my life. I feel relaxed about it. I don't feel panicked in any way, shape or form, even though we've lost our first match [against Lyon]. I just think methodically. I walk away, watch the game back, analyse it. I've got to then get the communication over to the players about what went wrong, what went right and then we start again."
On coaching with England...
"Everything that I've done in my post-playing career has been for a reason. Being a coach with England under Roy [Hodgson] wasn't planned but when the phone call came, some things you have to do and want to do. What I've learned in the last four to five years under Roy has been invaluable.
"My tolerance levels have completely changed in terms of understanding players - what they like, what they don't like, how to behave in front on them."
On learning from being a Sky Sports pundit...
"Working at Sky was probably one of the best decisions I've made to watch more football and appreciate different football. I'd only ever watched United live for 25 years so to go to watch other clubs play and to understand different styles and go and watch the Champions League was a brilliant experience. I always made sure I'd speak to different coaches and different people in football. I did my coaching badges at the same time; I'd already done my A license and my Pro license as well. I always tried to have this plan, knowing where I was going.
On himself as a foreign coach abroad...
"I absolutely would be sceptical [if I was looking in from the outside]. I remember when Mauricio Pochettino first came over to Southampton, thinking that Nigel Adkins had done a good job, thinking: 'Why have they brought in a foreign coach?' Then, within three or four weeks, I thought, 'Wow, this man can coach.' He's affected the team, had a big impact on them.
"If I was a Valencia fan, a reporter or in the Spanish media, I would be saying: 'It's a risk, it's a big risk,'' and I think it's a big risk for me, but the risk that I'm taking is manageable because I know the owners and I know what I'm here to do. I know what's happening at the club; that they don't want upheaval, they don't want someone to come in and say: ''Five staff go, six players go,'' and all of a sudden they've got a mess on their hands, I think part-owning a football club has helped me with that situation in terms of understanding what owners want as well."
On the language barrier...
"It's obvious that I need to learn the language as quickly as possible - that is the biggest challenge. It's the only challenge because one of the big things about me is that I can communicate well in English about what I want but I can't do that in Spanish. I'm relying upon some very bad, broken Spanish at this time and also translation, which loses its impact.
"That's what I found in my first team-talk; you're speaking then you're waiting, speaking then waiting. You want that impact to come with these big words and you don't even know if the translator is getting the impact across and the emphasis on words that you want. It's something that I'm conscious of, I'm trying to make it as simple as possible. I'm having meetings with three players a time rather than 23; that's the way we work with England, anyway."
On his new Valencia team...
"They're young, they'll run all day long and their enthusiasm to go and attack is unbelievable but it's that conscience to defend when you're attacking. That's maturity. If I don't affect that within the next two months I fail miserably and the best thing for me was the day after watching the [Lyon] game back. I felt incredibly positive because the things that are hard to get in a team are there; the simple things to fix through hard work and repetition are the ones that are actually the problem."
On targets for the season...
"It's got to be top four - it has to be. There's no point me sitting here and saying anything different and I think another target has to be to try and win a cup; we're in the Europa League, we're in the Spanish Cup, so I think from that point of view we have to try and do that. Those are the targets for Valencia every year. I think to say that we can win the La Liga is too much, too difficult, unrealistic. I think that's where we have to be - top four and think about winning a cup."
On his style as a coach...
"My preference would be a front-foot team; one that pressurises the ball as high up the pitch as possible, one that plays quickly with a high tempo, that goes forward with a little bit more sense than we did against Lyon. But at least I can work with them and the intent is there to attack, the intent is there to do the positive things. To get a team to play high up the pitch is hard, I'm aware of that. But I think that a team that plays as high up the pitch as possible and one that plays with a high tempo - that's technical obviously, that plays with a good understanding of the game, one that is tough to beat. I have a huge emphasis on possession but I like counter-attack as well."
On potentially becoming Manchester United manager...
"No, I don't see myself managing Manchester United at all. I know what I want to do in my life, and that's not something that's in my mind. From my point of view, this is important for me and a valuable experience. I'm aware I need to succeed."
On where he might go next...
"I'm here for the next five months. Beyond that, we'll see!"
The extended Guillem Balague interview with Gary Neville is also available On Demand.
