Valencia

Santiago Canizares concerned by "unknown" Gary Neville

By Tom Nightingale, Reporter | 04 December 2015

Former Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares raises doubts over whether "unknown" Gary Neville is a suitable appointment as the club's manager.

Former Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares has admitted that he is worried by the club's appointment of Gary Neville as their new manager.

Neville was handed his first managerial role when he was chosen to replace Nuno Espirito Santo for the rest of the season earlier this week to join his brother Phil, who had previously joined the Spanish club as a coach in July.

However, Canizares, who played over 400 times for Los Che in a decade at the club, insists that the La Liga outfit is not the right place for unproven managers to test their skills.

"In Valencia we know almost nothing about Gary Neville, he is an unknown," Goal.com quotes the 45-year-old as saying. "Being a good analyst is not the same as being a good coach.

"Valencia is not a team for experiments, it is not a place for a coach to get his apprenticeship. Three years ago the club gave a former player, Mauricio Pellegrino, his first proper coaching job. There were similarities with Neville, in fact. But it did not work out. So that is why there are doubts.

"[Club owner Peter Lim] has hired someone he knows, a friend who happens to have coaching badges. He has very good personal references. But what is he like as a coach? No-one knows because he has no experience. It is one thing to give your opinion and another to get things working on the pitch."

Valencia currently sit ninth in La Liga, although they are just two points off occupying a European place.