Valencia sacks Gary Neville after sorry start to managerial career

Gary Neville has been sacked as manager of Valencia after nearly four months at the helm of the La Liga outfit, and the club has confirmed Pako Ayestaran will be handed the reins until the end of the season.

Pako worked under Rafa Benitez at Valencia between 2001 and 2004 - a spell which saw it collect La Liga and UEFA Cup titles - and then followed Benitez to work at Liverpool for another three-year stint. He was appointed to assist Neville at the Mestalla in February, with the Englishman insisting at the time that it was his decision to bring in Pako.

The 53-year-old Spaniard will assume interim duties in the technical area for Saturday's trip to Las Palmas.

Neville said in a statement:

I would have liked to continue the work I started, but I understand that we are in business based on results and in 28 games we have seen 10 wins, seven draws and 11 defeats, which is not the level demanded by me or by this club.

The former Manchester United skipper was appointed as the successor of Nuno Espirito Santo for his first job in management at the start of December. The ensuing time frame saw Los Che plummet from ninth in the table with hopes of European qualification to 14th, just six points above the relegation zone.

His struggles in the domestic division were evident from the very beginning, and he had to wait for his first win at the 10th attempt against Espanyol on Feb. 13. His overall La Liga record stood at just three wins in 16 outings.

His first match in charge at Valencia was against Lyon in the Champions League, a 2-0 home loss confirming its exit at the group stage. The resulting Europa League campaign was cut short earlier this month, when Athletic Bilbao turfed it out of the competition on the away goal rule.

Things temporarily looked brighter when Neville managed to find some respite from his coaching woes in the Copa del Rey. The 41-year-old engineered wins over Barakaldo, Granada, and Las Palmas to reach the semifinal stage, but was then trounced by a rampant Barcelona, dumped out of the cup in February courtesy of an 8-1 aggregate scoreline.

How Neville landed such a coveted job on the continent was a matter of debate, with many pointing to his relationship with owner Peter Lim helping place his curriculum vitae to the top of the pile following Nuno's November resignation. His only coaching experience when he was appointed was assisting Roy Hodgson with England, and his other prominent tasks in the game were as a television pundit for Sky Sports and a co-owner of non-league Salford City alongside several ex-United teammates and Lim.

The 85-time England international was met with further derision over the past few weeks after he took time off to resume duties under Roy Hodgson with the national team.

Names of managers set to succeed Pako after his brief stint are already being bandied around, with Manuel Pellegrini, who is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season, emerging as an early candidate.