Just three days after sacking Gary Neville, Valencia have demoted his brother Phil but the younger Neville has no intention of walking away from the club he helped reach the Champions League last season and believes he does have a long term future at Mestalla.
Valencia play their first game post-Gary on Saturday in Las Palmas and will do so without Phil on the bench.
He did not travel with the team and the club have briefed that between now and the end of the season he will continue to play a part in training but will not have any matchday duties.
The decision comes as new coach Pako Ayestaran flexes his muscles in a bid to make the job his beyond the end of the season.
But Neville was part of the coaching set-up last season when Valencia finished fourth and made it into the Champions League and he has no intention of walking away.
He understands the club needs to concentrate on getting the six points that would probably mean safety but he feels secure about his position beyond the end of the season.
Ayesteran, who said on Friday that he only took over from Gary Neville because he had the sacked manager’s blessing, also admitted: ‘We have realised that we do not need to have such a big staff.
‘We have made mistakes, it’s important to bring together ideas but in this short space of time we have to be very clear about what we want from the players.’
Ayesteran will be a clear favourite to stay in the job beyond the summer if he keeps Valencia up but should they make a change Rayo Vallecano’s Paco Jemez and Zenit’s out-going boss Andre Villas-Boas will be candidates.
According to Sportsmail, Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini is not interested in taking charge and any move for Jose Mourinho is seen as completely beyond Valencia’s resources.
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