New Valencia boss Gary Neville has said made some odd contradictory statements about his future in managing.
Neville was hired to his first managerial position a month ago. On Wednesday Neville spoke with The Telegraph about his new position, saying he hopes to be at the club long term despite only getting a six month contract to start.
“You are always in a position whereby you are one month, two months, six months away from losing your job,” Neville said. “So the idea of six months is to me not an issue. If it’s for six months and it goes really well then I could be here for six years. I am committed to being here, I have brought my family out here and I feel if I can make a success of this it will be an incredible experience for me, for my family.”
That’s a common thing for a coach to say no matter the situation, as showing anything less than full commitment to a club could draw serious scrutiny from supporters who naturally become disgruntled with employees who don’t have both eyes on the prize. Which is what makes his next sentiments so odd.
“I’m not going to say where I want to end up, and it isn’t in management or head coaching, so I want to be clear about that,” Neville told Sky Sports. “That’s not my ultimate goal of where I want to be.”
He didn’t exactly clarify those comments, saying only, “I think it is uncertain the amount of time I’ll be here but (even) if I got given a five-year contract I think it would be uncertain about the amount of time I’d be here. That’s why I’m relaxed.”
So, to recap, Neville can see himself at Valencia for six years, but also doesn’t want to manage long-term. It will be interesting to see how those comments sit with not only Valencia supporters and executives, but also potential suitors. Neville has been linked with the Manchester United and England jobs recently, although he said that’s not on his mind.
“Me being the England manager in six months or me being the Manchester United manager in six months – I can assure you it’s not going to happen,” Neville said on Wednesday.