McClaren said: “You have to adapt quickly and I think he has an advantage in that Phil has been there, so that might fast-track things a little better”.
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SANTAIGO CANIZARES HAS major doubts over the appointment of Gary Neville at Valencia, claiming the Spanish club is “no place for apprentices”.
“This is a wonderful club and if I had turned down this job I would have said goodbye to my credibility”.
Is it a “risky appointment”?
He will take charge of the club in the Champions League encounter against Lyon on Wednesday.
“I think we’ve all seen inexperienced coaches succeed and experienced coaches fail”.
Jose Mourinho has recently been linked with the top job at the Mestalla [The Sun], but speaking to journalists in his pre-match press conference on Friday, the Portuguese coach has insisted that he is not being lined up as a replacement for Neville.
Neville’s objective, says Cañizares, must be to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League next season.
How long will he stay?
“If I am training in England for two years, six months, or one year and I don’t speak one word in English, of course you are thinking I am not interested to know English people”.
“When I was a player I always wanted foreign players to come over and immerse themselves in the culture and that is what I plan to do”.
The elder of the Neville brothers was recently announced as Valencia’s head coach after Nuno Espirito Santo stepped down from the job after a loss to rivals Sevilla. “I want to do what Philip has done, his Spanish is fantastic in terms of talking to the players and I have to show that same level of commitment”.
“There is no element of negativity at all”.
Mendes has helped bring players he represents into Valencia’s playing squad, with some of the new faces failing to win over the fans.
Why swap the studio for the bench now?
“I’ve been offered managerial jobs in football over the last four or five years, but the timing never felt right”. That will be important, both for the finances and for him to buy some time with the fans. This a is wonderful football club. “I did that with myself and with my family”, he added.
Neville, who confirmed brother Phil and former Valencia player Miguel Angel Angulo as his coaches, is determined to make the most of his short-term role. “I won’t shy away from that direct approach I had on television”, he said. “I would be stupid not to accept that support”.
“Roy was incredibly supportive, positive and enthusiastic for me”, he said.
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“I talked to him afterwards and he gave me words of encouragement”.
