Under-fire Neville knows his job is on the line but vows to keep fighting

07 February 2016 06:53

Gary Neville admitted his Valencia future was in doubt after his struggling side lost 1-0 to Real Betis, saying: "I am aware of the consequences when you don't get good results".

However, the beleaguered boss vowed to fight on, despite a sixth defeat in just over two months in charge of the club, who are just four points off the relegation zone and still without a win in nine La Liga matches under the Englishman.

The Betis defeat followed a humiliating 7-0 defeat to Barcelona last week in the Copa del Rey, the club's worst loss since 1993.

Yet the former Manchester United defender was laughing as he entered the press room at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.

Roy Hodgson's assistant with England defended his team's displays, with the exception of the humbling by Barcelona, and said he had not been given enough time to turn things around.

"I said before I came that I would be judged in five months. The obituaries have already been written, I have been judged in six weeks," Neville said at the post-match press conference.

"Our last two league matches were not performances that deserved two defeats, but the reality is that they are two defeats and I am aware of the consequences when you don't get good results. What matters are results. We knew this would be about one or two moments and they have not gone our way. The line between defeat and victory is so fine."

The coach also cursed his team's luck in the game against Betis, for whom Ruben Castro grabbed the winner, with Alvaro Negredo missing two chances in the second half and Shkrodan Mustafi having a goal ruled out for offside in injury time.

Valencia, though, finished with 10 men for the second match in a row following the late dismissal of Jose Luis Gaya

"It's clear that we are better than some of the teams we are playing against," added Neville.

"That's the most difficult thing to explain. I would say that it was a tight game, that the lines are fine, but that you have to win it in both boxes. I can't believe that we will keep missing chances and that every time there is a chance the other team will take it."

The coach was asked again if he would resign from the role, but vowed to stay on.

"There's no doubt that at times like this, everyone needs to stay together," he said.

"Everyone suffers. It's just not going for us at the moment. That was a pretty solid away performance. I continue to work, I continue to have belief. Conversations with the owners are between me and the owners. We have to turn it round quickly, I understand that. It is hard to explain the defeat. It will turn."

Former Manchester United defender Neville won eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two Champions Leagues as a player and was capped 85 times by England.

He became England assistant coach in 2012 when Hodgson was appointed and refused to relinquish his role after getting the Valencia job, although he gave up his work as a pundit with Sky Sports and a columnist with the Daily Telegraph.

Neville and Valencia owner Peter Lim are business partners, the Singaporean businessman owning a share of the former's Hotel Football and Cafe Football businesses and a 50 per cent stake in Salford City, the non-league football club Neville owns along with brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.

His Valencia record reads six defeats, six draws and four wins in all competitions, although he has failed to win a single game in the league.

Valencia striker Negredo refused to back the Neville after this latest defeat, telling Movistar: "That's not up to me. We know the coach well but that's up to the club. We shouldn't get involved in things that we aren't supposed to."

Source: PA