Neville ‘desperate’ for improvement

Gary Neville blocked questions about his Valencia future but described himself as ‘desperate’ to see results improve.

Neville was speaking in previewing Los Che’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Barcelona, a tie they trail 7-0 from the first encounter.

“This is my 30th Press conference in 60 days. We’re almost on a loop. When you ask me the same things, I don’t think the fans want to hear it,” he said at the start of the meeting with reporters, according to AS.

“Even I’m tired of hearing myself talk. All we can do is win games. I want to focus only on football. Maybe that’s not what you want to ask but I’ll only answer questions about football.

“Resign? That’s not in my plans. I’m desperate to turn around the situation. Football is sometimes a cruel sport. Sometimes you don’t deserve anything and just get a draw.

“But that’s not been the situation in recent games. We’ve deserved to win. When you play well you know you’re going to turn around the situation.”

Neville, who pointed to the existence of a Twitter hashtag in support of the team in opposition to one calling for his head, and confirmed the involvement of a number of young players against Barca, agreed the squad’s been in better humour.

“Obviously confidence is low. Last season this team got 77 points because confidence was high,” he argued.

“I see a committed group. When I watch the games, we had chances to win [against Real Betis, Sporting Gijon and Deportivo La Coruna].

“I always see games as an opportunity. The last week has been unacceptable. We have a few games in three days. We have to focus on fighting. The match against Espanyol is fundamental. We have to prove to the fans we can flip the situation.

“The message to the fans is that they were here before and will be here after Gary Neville. This is their way of life. I’m trying to think of the right words.

“I’m determined to go onto the streets of Valencia, look them in the eye and give them what they want. They travel, they pay to be in Mestalla and that is what decides if they have a happy week or not.”

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