Gary Neville has revealed that he was earmarked by the FA as the perfect replacement for Roy Hodgson as England manager.
Neville is now well-established as a successful pundit for Sky Sports, but he first set out into coaching after retiring from playing. The former Manchester United right-back was an assistant manager to Hodgson from 2012 to 2016, working at two European Championships and the 2014 World Cup.
He completed all of his coaching badges and took his first step as a manager when he was appointed by owner Peter Lim to take charge of Valencia in December 2015. His stint with the Spanish club famously did not work out and he lasted just 28 matches before being sacked.
That ill-fated time at Valencia ended up becoming a sliding doors moment for Neville, who has now explained that the FA’s director of elite development, Dan Ashworth, had already been planning the next step after Hodgson. “I’ve never said this publicly, but I remember getting the Valencia job in December, and Dan Ashworth rang me and said this was the perfect move for me to be on that next step for when Roy Hodgson decided he wanted to leave the England job, for me to take over,” Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast.
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“I always remember that phone call and him saying this was the perfect opportunity, but I look back now, and it was right that I failed in the job because I didn’t put the work in. With how my work ethic is now, I needed to fail to have that slap in the face moment, for me to get back to it, which is where I am now.”
England ended up appointing Sam Allardyce to replace Hodgson in July 2016, just four months after Neville was sacked by Valencia. Allardyce signed a two-year contract, yet took charge of just one match, stepping down after 67 days following a newspaper sting which alleged he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on transfers.
Gareth Southgate was then promoted from his role as manager of England under-21s and remains in the job to this day. Neville ultimately turned his back on management after the Valencia fiasco and has no regrets at how things panned out.
Gary Neville won just 10 of his 28 games at Valencia (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Would Gary Neville have been a good England boss? Comment below.
“By the time I was manager of Valencia, I had done my UEFA B licence which was when I was 31,” he added. “I had done my UEFA A licence at 34 whilst I was still at Manchester United, and I had done my UEFA Pro licence at 37, so I was fully qualified and could sit on the bench for any team in Europe.
“I said at the time that if you do your coaching badges, it will help with your punditry and it does for a period because you’re talking about the game with 20 other coaches doing their badges. Despite doing the badges, I didn’t want to go into a managerial role because I was enjoying the media side. The lessons from Valencia were massive for me about saying no. At the time, I said yes to a couple things that came my way, and the one with Peter at Valencia was purely to do him a favour.”
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