GARY NEVILLE has revealed the unbreakable rule he set for himself when he joined Sky Sports as a pundit.
Manchester United legend Neville, 49, called time on his glittering career – which included winning two Champions League and 12 Premier League titles – in 2011.
Shortly after he made the switch into punditry with broadcaster Sky Sports.
Since then he has become a mainstay on TV, regularly appearing on Monday Night Football and as a co-commentator for major Premier League matches.
However, Neville has now revealed the self-imposed “rule” he would never break while doing the job.
Speaking on Stick to Football: The Overlap Special, brought to you by Sky Bet, a community question asked Neville and co-stars, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott, what the hardest part about becoming a pundit was.
Neville explained one of his biggest challenges came when former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was under pressure when he was the manager of Man Utd.
He said: “Ole was tough, for me and for you (Keane) I think.
“People at the end abused him, and me probably more than you, but the idea of going against Ole, that’s never going to happen.
“I can say, ‘He’s under pressure, the team aren’t playing well’ – we said all those things – but the idea of going a step further which says, ‘He should lose his job’, ‘He should be sacked’ – never.
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“That’s what people want but I would never go into that. I’ve never once [did that].
“It was a rule when I came into Sky, for myself, about 13 years ago – I said I would never ever [call for a manager to be sacked].”
Neville continued: “I remember the manager at Blackburn – Steve Kean – I’ve never seen a manager have as tough a time, for a longer period – than Steve.
“It was getting painful in the end where you’re thinking, ‘Actually, he probably wants to be sacked’, but you never say, ‘Sack him, put him out of his misery’.
“Some do and feel comfortable with it, but I’ve never said it and I’m quite proud of that.”
Adding his two cents to the question, former team-mate Keane said: “You’ve got to give an opinion [when doing punditry], don’t you?
“A lot of people do a lot of talking but aren’t saying anything. That’s what you’re there for – you’re not there for everyone to agree with it.
“[The toughest thing about punditry is] different demands – getting to games, [speaking about] lads you might have played with.”
A separate segment of the podcast saw Neville reveal his pet hates, declaring his hatred for BARBEQUES, – calling them an “unsociable eating experience” – shoehorns and WhatsApp Groups.
Keane had some similar hates, such as people with flashy cars who park wherever they want – though the Irishman went as far as calling for their tyres to be “slashed” as punishment.
I’VE a message for all those who reckon the search for England’s next manager is a two-horse race — you’re bang on!
And while we’re at it, here’s another… I bet very few of you have narrowed it down to the same couple of candidates as me.
If the odds are spot-on, finding Gareth Southgate’s replacement is a toss-up between Eddie Howe and Graham Potter.
Well in my book it’s a straight head-to-head, too. But I’m even more convinced that the men I see as obvious front-runners will be lucky to even get an interview.
I doubt there are many who’d agree with me either, when I say the FA should look no further than Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard for the next Three Lions boss.
Either of them could do the job standing on their head, yet probably neither will get so much as a phone call.
Mind you, plenty of people will insist there’s no reason why they should because they’ve already written off both as failures.
Forgetting that Frank reached an FA Cup final and finished fourth in his first spell at Chelsea.
Or the fact that Everton were in such a mess, he never had a prayer when he went there.
There’s every chance they’ll gloss over Stevie’s time at Rangers, despite their first title win in a decade — unbeaten as well — and say he was a flop at Aston Villa.
But you show me a manager who’s not had a tough time of it somewhere down the line. Potter certainly did at Chelsea — he only lasted 31 games and lost 11 of them.
So did Unai Emery, the man who replaced Stevie as boss at Villa, when he was Arsenal manager. It happens to everyone out there.
So what’s the difference between Potter and Frank?
Why is one an obvious candidate for England, yet the other not even worthy of a mention?
Nothing against Eddie or Graham, by the way. Eddie’s doing well enough at Newcastle without absolutely tearing it up.
And Potter did a good job at Brighton before Chelsea but he had good recruitment and was working with good players.
Look at some of the names he had and where they ended up.
Alexis Mac Allister won the World Cup and went to Liverpool. Leandro Trossard is at Arsenal, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea, Yves Bissouma is with Tottenham.
There’s no doubt Potter or Howe would be a safe pair of hands. A steady Eddie. Just like Gareth was eight years ago — which is why they will probably get a chance.
But if the FA want someone steeped in football knowledge — at international level too — and who knows the game inside out at that level, both Frank and Stevie leave them standing.
The players would love it as well. They’d be desperate to play for them.
They would have nothing but respect whether it was Lampard or Gerrard as boss.
So, are they both on the scrapheap for good because they’ve had a failure somewhere down the line? There won’t be any managers left before long if that’s all it takes.
And here’s another thing as well. While you need a thick skin to be a club manager, it’s not a patch on the one demanded at international level.
That goes for players — certainly the senior ones — as well. And Stevie and Frank could tell you all about that better than most.
Some of the stuff Frank had to put up with back in the day was horrendous, horrible stuff.
It was the same for Gerro, especially when he was captain.
But the pair of them stood up and came through it. And that’s the sort of character you want and need as England manager.
It’s not about being a fantastic coach. When do you really get the chance to prove that with England? You don’t.
You’re not out there every day doing shape, shadow play and the like. For one thing you tend to pick the team at the last minute because you don’t want it leaking out!
It’s about managing, not coaching and there is a difference. It’s about picking the best players in the right positions.
It’s about attacking and being positive — and in my book, nothing would be more positive than giving Stevie or Frank a call.
But I’d be very surprised if anyone at the FA even picks up the phone and dials their numbers.
