Well Gary Neville is certainly at the centre of one of the biggest stories of the football season so far with his appointment as Valencia head coach. At his first press conference last Thursday Neville spoke like a man who had much bigger plans than just the 6 months he has signed on for initially as he revealed that he will be moving his family over to Spain in short order to join him.

As he took training for the first time on Monday as the Guardian reported, his former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who managed Neville for the best part of 20 years went on to give the first time manager his backing. Speaking at an event in London, Ferguson said, “Typical Gary, he’s got the courage to do something like this. It’s a big step for him – owning Salford City Football Club to managing Valencia.

“But he’s got the football experience and he’s got that role with England that will help him too and the most important thing that he’s got, he’s got an incredible determination about him. He’s a good decision maker, he’s prepared to make a decision and he’s got that positive attitude.

“He’s a winner, he’s an absolute winner and I think he’ll do really well.

“His brother Phil was a far more talented footballer. Everyone in England wanted Phil and we took Gary simply because he was determined, and he was a centre-back at that time.

“But he had something in him and he made himself a footballer. He worked, he practised, he had an incredible determination that made him what he is today.

“He’s an incredible human being, everything he touches turns to gold. I think he will do well. He’ll be a success.”

Well it certainly sounds like SAF is convinced in his former player’s ability but Gary Neville has certainly got a challenge ahead of him as few British manager have successfully made the move to Spain in their careers yet alone as their first managerial appointment. As we know David Moyes just got jettisoned from his role at Real Sociedad a day before his year anniversary there.