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| Gary Neville has been appointed as Valencia head coach |
GARY NEVILLE described it as "an opportunity". In reality, his remarkable appointment as Valencia's new head coach is much more than that.
It is an audition, albeit an unconventional one, and also the first step on a managerial path that could now lead him to boyhood club Manchester United and England. Perhaps, in time, it will be both.
There has been a clamour for the highly-regarded Neville to move out of the comfort of the Sky Sports studio, where his forensic analysis of the Premier League makes for essential viewing, and test himself on football's front-line.
If the expectation was that the challenge would come in England, then we should have guessed Spain was also a potential destination given Valencia owner Peter Lim's 50 per cent stake in Salford City, the club United's Class of 92 bought in 2014.
Gary's brother Phil is already ensconced on the coaching staff at the Mestella and it is Neville junior who will help take charge against Barcelona on Saturday.
Yet Gary, 40, has hardly taken an easy option. His first official game will be at home to Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday when Valencia, who are third in Group H, must win to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages.
Neville, who recently completed his UEFA Pro Licence, has much to learn and will have to establish his credibility in a dressing room that fell out with the previous head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo.
His influence and respect around the England camp is recognised by the players and he helped persuade Roy Hodgson to plump for a midfield diamond formation at the onset of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign which resulted in the win over Switzerland.
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| Gary Neville has worked alongside Roy Hodgson with England since 2012 |
Replicating that on daily basis in a foreign country when he does not speak the language will be the challenging part. More so at a club where he becomes the 15th coach in the last 15 years, although his appointment has been generally well received.
A poll carried out by the main Valencia-based sports paper, Super Deporte, showed 69 per cent of supporters offered their backing.
Yet it is the perception of what may follow Neville's appointment at the La Liga club until the end of the season that is intriguing.
England coach Roy Hodgson's contract expires after Euro 2016 and his assistant has always been mentioned in dispatches as one of the candidates to come under consideration if the Football Association looks elsewhere.
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| Gary and Phil Neville during their time together at Manchester United |
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| Gary Neville has impressed with his punditry for Sky Sports |
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| Gary Neville is currently one of the owners of Salford City |
"It's the right moment in time for him and I'm 100 per cent behind his decision to join Valencia as the new head coach," said Hodgson yesterday.
"This will be an extra string to his bow and the experience he will gain working in the Spanish league can only be beneficial to our work together with the England team.
"As someone who has spent a large part of my coaching career working abroad, I salute his decision and hope he gains as much from his time in Spain as I have done from the various countries which I have worked."
Hodgson should be mindful it could be at his own expense because there will be a groundswell for Neville to succeed him if he resurrects the fortunes of Valencia, who currently lie ninth in the table following the departure of Nuno at the weekend.
There is also United to factor in and Neville's move into management sets up a potentially intriguing contest to succeed Louis van Gaal in the Old Trafford hot seat. Especially if Singapore billionaire Lim - who attempted to purchase Liverpool in 2010 - buys United from The Glazers.
Van Gaal's contract ends in 18 months and the Dutchman, who will be nearly 66 by then, has admitted he has promised his wife, Truus, this will be his last job in football and he will be ready to retire to his "Portuguese paradise".
He has already tipped his right-hand man Ryan Giggs to be his successor but that would represent a gamble because although Giggs is climbing a steep learning curve, listening and watching, under Van Gaal's tutelage, he will still lack hard-nosed management experience.
United are monitoring Pep Guardiola's situation at Bayern Munich, but if Neville makes a success of the job at Valencia he is certain to come into their thoughts.
Neville grew up a United fan, he played over 600 games for them, succeeded Roy Keane as captain, so becoming manager one day will be his ultimate dream.
There is a long way to go yet, but Neville has never been afraid of a challenge and has proved successful at just about anything he has turned his hand to, whether it has been as a player, coach, TV pundit, joint owner of Salford City or businessman.
"We are delighted to have secured Gary so quickly," said Valencia president Layhoon Chan. "He combines top-level coaching experience through his role as a senior coach with the England national team and a world-class playing career with England and Manchester United.
"Throughout his career Gary has always shown great leadership both on and off the pitch. He is hugely respected in English football and it was his personal qualities which persuaded us that he was the right choice to lead Valencia until the end of the season."
Having talked the talk, Neville has grasped the chance to walk the walk.
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