Gary Neville knew about his fate as the manager of Valencia long before the club made his sacking official, according to reports from England.
The former Manchester United captain, who had taken over as the manager of Valencia last year, has not enjoyed much success at the club, managing to win just three of their 16 La Liga matches under his reign.
Neville is also a part of the coaching staff of the England national team, something that has drawn a lot of criticism from the Valencia fans who thought that he was not too serious about the Los Che job. According to emerging reports, Neville had known that he was going to be sacked.
Pako Ayestaran, who was Neville’s deputy in the Valencia dugout, has been named as the interim manager for the rest of the season.
“When we took the decision to replace Gary with Pako we asked for Gary’s permission to start the process, which Gary gave us,” Valencia sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.“We invited Pako to Singapore and he met with Peter to evaluate the situation so that Peter could get to know him and Pako could transmit what he could bring to the club.”
Ayestaran himself was quite thankful to Neville, who he says, was very supportive of the club turning to the 53-year-old as the man to take over.
“I would not be sitting here if Gary had not said yes. I spoke with him before accepting. He told the board I was the best man to replace him,” said Ayestaran.
Pellegrini the top man to take Los Che job?
Valencia have had a forgettable season so far, and that has reflected on their position in La Liga. They currently lie 14th in the league, just six points above the relegation zone. This is quite a tame finish for a club that is generally expected to be in the top four, and even challenging the duopoly of Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, Atletico Madrid have taken over the latter role in the last couple of years, while Los Che have plummeted further down the table.
One man who, it is believed can revive the lost glory of Valencia, is current Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini. The Chilean manager will be replaced by Pep Guardiola after the end of the current season, and is one of the favourites to take over the Valencia job. The 62-year-old has a good record in Spain, having taken the likes of Villarreal and Malaga to the Champions League.
