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Gary Neville admits Valencia's humiliating 7-0 defeat to Barcelona was 'most painful night'

The former Manchester United defender's side were humiliated in the Copa del Rey

Simon Rice
Thursday 04 February 2016 08:58 GMT
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Gary Neville watches Valencia against Barcelona
Gary Neville watches Valencia against Barcelona (GETTY IMAGES)

Gary Neville's Valencia career hit its lowest point last night when his side were humiliated 7-0 by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, an evening the former Manchester United defender described as "one of my most painful nights in football".

However, the England assistant manager says he won't resign.

Luis Suarez scored four and Lionel Messi bagged a hat-trick as Barca ran riot in the first-leg of this semi-final meeting.

The competition had up until this point been Neville's only respite from a disastrous start to his Valencia career that has seen him fail to mastermind a win in eight league matches.

In addition to this humiliation at Camp Nou the fans are also beginning to turn on the former England international.

Neville was asked about his future three times in his post-match press conference. When asked outright if he intended to resign, Neville emphatically replied: "No."

A second line of questioning brought the response "next question" before a third attempt saw Neville say: "Next question. I have answered that before. I think I was very clear."

Although insisting he will battle on, Neville was not hiding after his side's embarrassing evening.

"This was one of my most painful nights in football," he said. "The scoreline is unacceptable. I have not enjoyed tonight. I won't sleep well tonight. I didn't like what I saw. The fans didn't deserve that. We have to recover incredibly quickly.

"This is one of the worst experiences I've ever gone through in football."

Gary Neville speaks to the media after Barcelona defeat

Valencia sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch said it was one of the worst results in the club's history, but refused to discuss whether Neville's job is in danger.

"This day you can't explain," he said to television cameras after the game.

"We must apologise to fans for one of worst results in our history.

"I never talk about tactical or team things. Everyone can draw opinion from what happened. Not the day to talk about the future."

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