Man United legend Gary Neville makes bizarre 'legs' admission over nightmare Valencia spell

Former Manchester United full-back turned pundit Gary Neville has revealed how he felt ‘inferior’ to other managers he was coming up against during his ill-fated spell in charge of Valencia.

After retirement from playing, Neville built up some coaching experience within the coaching team of the England national team. He was handed a surprise first managerial role in December 2015, taking over at La Liga side Valencia.

He was however dismissed just four months later after a less-than-successful time at the club. Of his 28 matches in charge in all competitions, Valencia won just 10, drawing seven and losing 11.

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His final match in charge saw his team fall to a 2-0 defeat against Celta de Vigo at the end of March. Other losses included a 7-0 defeat against Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey.

Since leaving Valencia, Neville has not had another coaching job, instead focusing on pundit work and his ownership of League Two side Salford City. The former defender has now opened up on just how difficult he found the job and coming up against more experienced managers.

“After a couple of months into the job at Valencia, I remember looking at myself in the mirror one morning and thinking that I looked ill,” he told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. “I remember we played three times against Athletic Bilbao, in the Europa League quarter-final and in a league game, and Ernesto Valverde was the coach – he played a different system that I thought he would and then he changed during the game, and I remember thinking that I was nowhere near that level. I felt massively inferior to him because I struggled to manage and watch the game from pitch level, especially compared to how I see the game in the gantry.

“You put yourself on the touchline and you’re watching a game where all you can see is legs, and how you think of the game tactically or how managers spot things, I have no idea because I remember thinking that I had no idea what was going on.

“Seeing Valverde was the first time that I felt that I was miles off and then I coached against Diego Simeone, and on that day, I felt like he was beating me up in every way – with his tactics, his intimidation, and his mannerisms.

“The other one was Luis Enrique, when Barcelona beat us 7-0 in the Copa del Rey, when they were winning 5-0, he didn’t substitute Neymar, Lionel Messi, or Luis Suárez, and at the end of the game, he walked straight past me and didn’t shake my hand, which I felt that he was sending me a message that I didn’t belong.

“Rafa Benítez was good to me during my time at Valencia. We played Real Madrid, and he was under pressure at the time, but after the game he came over to me and shook my hand, and he was actually very good with me.”