Gary Neville would question Valencia appointment if he was neutral observer

Gary Neville was presented as the new Valencia boss on Thursday, before admitting he would have questioned the appointment of an untested manager to such a big job.

The 40-year-old England coach will take his first venture into football management with the Primera Division giants after signing a six-month deal.

Opting to start out at such a major club will open Neville up to the kinds of criticism he was more used to dishing out as a pundit with Sky Sports.

The former Manchester United captain knows he has now put his neck on the line but felt it was the right time to do so.

When asked what Neville the pundit would have made of another man being appointed in such a fashion, he replied: “I would question it as a neutral observer and would be sceptical, wanting to be proven otherwise.

“I understand that here I have to prove to Valencia fans that I’m capable of doing this job. Those who have concerns will only be removed by winning football matches.

“Sitting on television, talking about coaches for these last few years, the time had come for me to stand up.”

Neville’s first match at the helm will come in a pivotal Champions League clash against Lyon after he decided against taking charge for this weekend’s league fixture with Barcelona.

Although he has ended his affiliation with Sky, Neville will continue in his coaching position alongside Roy Hodgson in the England set-up and does not envisage any issues arising from his dual commitments, revealing all of his other projects will take a back seat for the time being.

“He was behind me 100%,” Neville said of Hodgson’s reaction.

“We have the two games in March during the international break so from my point of view, I wanted to complete my job through to the European Championship but I want people to know that Valencia is my priority 95-99 per cent of the time.

“Obviously I have a lot of interests back home but I’m fully focused on this challenge in front of me. Salford City has a 14-person committee, a coaching staff and three other owners who live near the ground.

“My input, in that sense, is minimal. The club runs itself in many ways.”

It will certainly be a family affair in Valencia as Neville announced brother Phil will remain at the club he joined in the summer as assistant coach – while his wife and children will also relocate to join him in Spain.

“If Phil wasn’t here, I would want him here,” he added.

“He’s diligent, hard-working and form my point of view I’m delighted he’s part of the coaching set-up. We don’t do niceties and we talk about actions and what we’re going to do.

“My family will move over here permanently. My girls will finish school in Manchester in two weeks’ time and they’ll move over to Valencia with my wife.”