"I said no" - Gary Neville reveals Middlesbrough and Derby County rejection | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has revealed that he turned down the opportunity to talk to Middlesbrough and Derby County over the managerial vacancies.

Neville only had a short stint in management, and that was with Spanish side Valencia when he took the reins from December 2015 to March 2016.

The 49-year-old knew owner Peter Lim, and that was one of the reasons the former England full-back took on the role.

Before becoming Valencia manager, Neville worked with Sky Sports, a role he still has to this day, and was also England assistant manager to then manager Roy Hodgson.

Gary Neville reveals Middlesbrough and Derby County managerial rejection

Gary Neville has not been in management since his ill-fated spell with Valencia; instead, the former Manchester United defender has continued his work on television, as well as being co-owner of League Two side Salford City, and is now growing his Overlap platform.

Neville works alongside Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright, and Roy Keane to discuss football topics of the week or time gone by.

This week, the topic of conversation was about Neville and the 49-year-old revealed that he rejected the opportunities to talk to Middlesbrough, Derby County, and even Newcastle United over their managerial vacancies.

Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast, via Derbyshire Live: “I took the Valencia job purely because I knew the owner and I felt like I owed him something, and I was loyal to him, he believed in me in terms of the business.

"I’ve been asked by Middlesbrough for an interview, Newcastle and Derby asked to speak to me, all in the previous three years I had been on Sky. I said no to every offer because it wasn’t what I wanted to be.”

Gary Neville’s managerial record

As mentioned, Gary Neville has only managed one side in his career, and that was his six months with Valencia.

It was a period that the former Manchester United captain will want to forget about, as he took charge of 28 games, 10 of which he did win.

However, he lost more games than he won, as the Spanish side lost 11 times in all competitions. The La Liga side scored 39 goals during his tenure, but they conceded 38.

Neville’s time at the club wasn’t successful at all, as he left before the end of the season, but according to Transfermarkt, he did leave, picking up 1.32 points per game.

Middlesbrough or Derby County jobs could have worked out differently for Gary Neville

As Gary Neville revealed, he took the job at Valencia because he knew the owner and had worked with him before in his other business’.

But if the former England defender had decided to reject that offer and take one of the opportunities at Middlesbrough or Derby, his career after football could have turned out very differently.

Both Boro and Derby were in the Championship in the 2015/16 season; obviously, Neville doesn’t say when these chances came about, but if they were in this season, he could have potentially had success with these clubs.

Both sides finished second and fifth, respectively, in that campaign. Now, it could have been different under Neville, but it could have also worked out similarly, and you could now be talking about someone who has a career in management.

But that didn’t come about, and instead Boro and Derby have gone down different routes with different managers and may look back with delight that they didn’t take on Neville as manager.