It’s not easy for a British coach to succeed in Spain. It becomes even tougher when it is your very first job as a manager and you are thrown into the fiery cauldron that is La Liga. That’s exactly what Gary Neville is going through at the moment as he struggles to come to terms with football management in the league.
The former Manchester United right-back was appointed as Valencia manager at the start of December last year soon after Nuno Espirito Santo had stepped down. Los Che were already on a bad run of form, not having won a Liga game since 7 November. But even after Neville took over, there has been no improvement and the club are still winless in the league.
While they are not losing too many games, it is the draws that is affecting them at the moment. They are the only team in the league who have drawn 10 games – almost half of the 21 played so far. Neville is known to be a master tactician who has now become renowned for his top class punditry on Sky Sports, seeing things even other pundits don’t recognise.
So are his instructions to the players getting lost in translation? In this video, you can see Neville trying his best to communicate with the players in broken Spanish. Even his brother and assistant coach Phil Neville can be seen relaying his instructions, albeit with a louder voice. The English accent is also unmistakable as the pair urge their players on.
During instances where Neville is frustrated, he is seen cursing in English itself and it is picked up by the microphones near the touchline too. We only hope the players respond to give him a first league win soon after almost two months in charge.
Desperate to give fans a win: Neville
With the club now in 11th place, 16 points away from a Champions League spot, nobody wants a win more than Neville himself. And after the 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Coruna, thanks to a late goal from Alvaro Negredo, Neville was confident it would happen soon enough.
“The wins will come. The fans want victories and I am desperate to give them to them.
“The least they demand is that the players fight to the end. I am not happy with today's result; a draw can never please a manager of Valencia. What I am is proud of the fact that we fought until the end.
“I can't ask for more from the players in terms of effort and desire,” he concluded.
