Gary Neville 'totally committed' to Valencia despite England trip
Saturday 19 March 2016 14:27, UK
Gary Neville insists he remains fully committed to Valencia after he was criticised in Spain for his decision to link up with England next week.
Neville will fulfil his commitment as an England coach by meeting up with Roy Hodgson's men for friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands after Sunday's La Liga game against Celta Vigo.
There have been suggestions in Spain that he should concentrate on his job as Valencia coach rather than making the trip, after overseeing just three wins in 15 league games since taking charge in December.
However, he says his decision to go away with England was based on the fact that only eight senior players will remain in Valencia during the two-week break due to their own international commitments.
I'm totally committed to Valencia, I think I've proven that.
"Maybe it's been used against me by the fans or people like yourselves, asking the questions, but it's been a three or four-month commitment," said Neville, who is only under contract at the Mestalla until the end of the season, at his press conference on Saturday.
"I'm totally committed to Valencia, I think I've proven that.
"The thing that will be more refreshing for me will be to win against Celta Vigo, and then to win the eight remaining matches."
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Hodgson said he hoped Neville's time with England "will be a nice little break" from the daily demands at Valencia, but the former Manchester United captain insists that will not be the case.
"I don't know about refreshing, I don't know if it's the right word. It won't be a break either. It's something we agreed many months ago when I came to Valencia," he said.
Valencia bowed out of the Europa League on away goals to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, but Neville does not want their season to fizzle out, especially as they are still only seven points clear of the drop zone with 34 points.
He said: "It will be a big mistake if anybody thinks we don't have anything to fight for this season.
"Any team with less than 40-42 points has a lot to fight for. We have a lot to fight for, trust me.
"I'm going to be more relentless than I ever have been for these next two months. For the next nine games I am not going to let up. The minimum is that we fight for every point in every game to move up the league.
"We have to deliver many, many points. We have no excuses with midweek games. My excuses are removed, we have free weeks, we can coach the team finally without the midweek games, that's not been possible in the last three months, with a game every three days. Now we can work on what we want to work on - that's not been possible for the last months.
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"I look forward to these months to be able to coach well, to coach the team, for the players to get a better understanding and idea of what we want, in terms of the finer details.
"There is a lot to play for. I have to prove myself in these next nine matches, because the results don't reflect the work I've been doing."
