Valencia boss Gary Neville insists “all the Coaches in the world have a six-month contract” in response to claims his tenure is too short to make an impact.
The Englishman replaced Nuno Santo on a deal until the end of the season at the beginning of December and has begun his spell with a win, a draw and two defeats in four games, but he claims the “crazy” nature of football makes his arrangement sufficient.
“There’s enormous talent [in this squad],” he told Marca.
“I’ve seen a lot of football in recent years and I appreciate [the players’] talent.
“The development of these players is going to be huge, but the younger ones aren’t the finished product yet.
“They need to mature, gain experience and work hard and develop both a good physique and understanding of football.
“The aim is to finish in the top four, to get into the Champions League, and win the Europa League.
“It’s difficult, but it’s a challenge we’ve set ourselves and we have to maintain it.
“We can’t drop silly points. [The top four] was what we achieved last season and we should never be below expectations.
“I was in a long-term contract with Sky, but in football and life, a change of direction is good.
“I spoke on TV about the lack of opportunities for English Coaches, not only in the Premier League but around the world, and I couldn’t refuse Valencia, otherwise I’d have lost credibility.
“I’ve been Roy [Hodgson’s] assistant and the natural progression was to become a head Coach/
“People have been telling me, ‘[coaching] is stressful’. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m not nervous, I’m relaxed and I see technical ability, enthusiasm and the desire to be great from my players.
“It would’ve be riskier if I didn’t join Valencia [than coming midway through the season].
“It’s a wonderful opportunity that I couldn’t refuse. It’s a great challenge, but it’s not a risk. The risk would’ve been if I didn’t join.
“[My future] will be decided by the owners, players and I. Someone told me, ‘look, six months is too short’, but I think all the Coaches in the world have a six-month contract.
“It’s not longer than that because football is crazy sometimes. I’m committed, my family are coming over and we rented our house for two years.
“It doesn’t mean I’ll be two years, but we have to plan with success in mind, not failure.
“In six months, we’ll see. I can sit down with the landlord in February or March and say, ‘look, things are going well’, or ‘there’s a problem’. I’m very sincere about this.
“I don’t know what my exact title is, apart from that it just says ‘coach’.
“I know the owners well and they didn’t want an entirely new coaching staff, with new players and everything else new.
“I don’t think football should be like this. I’ve been asked to assume this responsibility until the end of the season and they told me ‘come, let’s get there and see’.
“Will I succeed or be good enough for Valencia? I don’t know. We must be honest and if we improve and reap good results, we’ll see. We must let things happen.
“[Peter Lim] came to the match against Lyon. We spoke for two hours after the game and then I spoke to him before Eibar for 15 minutes.
“[CEO Chan] Lay Hoon is here and I speak to her every day. It’s important to have good communication.”
