Gary Neville’s reign as Valencia manager is over after just four months.
The Manchester United legend was sacked this afternoon and replaced by former Liverpool coach Pako Ayestaran, who worked under Rafa Benitez at Anfield between 2004 and 2007.
Neville took charge of 16 La Liga games, losing half of them and winning just three. The final nail in his coffin was probably this goal by Hugo Mallo, which sealed a 2-0 win for Celta Vigo at the Mestalla 10 days ago.
Ayestaran’s first game as new boss will be away at Las Palmas on Saturday.
Valencia sit 14th in La Liga with eight fixtures remaining. They are six points clear of relegation and a whopping 20 below the top four.
Neville will now be left to reflect on how his first venture into management went so wrong, while also focussing on his role in the coaching set-up of the England national team, who begin their Euro 2016 campaign against Russia 72 days from now.
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