Neville baffled by Sporting defeat: “It’s hard to explain”

Gary Neville felt his side deserved more from today’s game against Sporting – saying he had no explanation for why his side were beaten by the minimum at Mestalla. He also put a reporter straight about his position at the club.

Home defeat to a side in the bottom three

You ask how I explain that game – I find it difficult. I’ve sat there with some of the players and I’ve sat there for 15 minutes with the coaching staff to try and understand what has actually happened out there on the pitch. It’s obviously the most disappointing result of the season here; but actually, it doesn’t tell the story of the game. [Considering the way we played] it wasn’t a game we should have ended losing. I think you all know that – you’ve watched enough football matches over the years. I think I’ve had, 14 matches now since I came here, and in the last four matches, I’ve seen the performance of a team I can relate to; I can sleep at night knowing that they are improving, but today, I cannot explain the result because that game should have ended 4 or 5 nil in my opinion. I don’t think it would have been unfair on Sporting de Gijón in saying that. We haven’t got time to be disappointed - we have to pick ourselves up as we play Barcelona on Wednesday and we have 10 games to get through next month.

Are you worried about your position?

Valencia fans have a very fine way of telling you when they are asking you about your position, and I think that out there today, you didn’t see any of them asking for my position. I find this question ridiculous – it’s from you, please don’t sit there and put it on the fans. It’s a big mistake you are making because you are misrepresenting what they fans have shown out there today from the first minute to the last. Your job as a reporter, and I know because I have been a reporter too, is to represent fairly what happens, and your question misrepresents what we saw from 30-40,000 Valencia fans out there today.