Gary Neville on the brink: Five things the Manchester United legend can do to save his job at Valencia

ANALYSIS: The England assistant saw his side humiliated 7-0 by Barcelona last night

Neville thinks United are a better team under Jose Mourinho (GETTY IMAGES)

Gary Neville's difficult start to life as Valencia manager took a severe turn for the worse on Wednesday night when his side were hammered 7-0 at Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

Los Che had gone eight games without a win in the Primera Division since Neville took over in early December, but they hit a new low at the Camp Nou and it left the former England international looking over his shoulder, with fans beginning to question his position.

Here Press Association Sport looks at five things he needs to do to turn fortunes around at the Mestalla and save his job.

1. Improve concentration

Neville blamed the defeat on Valencia's nasty habit of conceding possession deep in their own half - unhelpful at any time, but disastrous when taking on three of the best attackers in the world in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

The errors left Los Che seriously exposed and undermanned in defence and it is an issue Neville must address before his team travel to Seville to face Real Betis on Sunday.

2. Start games better

In all of Neville's eight league games at the helm Valencia have fallen behind, leaving them with an uphill task. One of the positives under the former Manchester United defender has been the club's spirit - in four of those games they have battled back to earn a point with goals in the final 10 minutes of matches. But they are chasing the game too often, so they need to find a way to score the first goal in the game and go from there.

3. Get the best from the beast

One of the first things Neville did following his appointment in December was bring former Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo - nicknamed 'the Beast' - into the starting XI. However, barring a Copa del Rey hat-trick against Granada, the 30-year-old has flattered to deceive and been guilty of a string of glaring misses. He has bagged twice in the league but has not been reliable enough in front of goal, evidenced by a shocking run of wasted chances in the 1-0 loss against Sporting Gijon last week.

Gary Neville (GETTY IMAGES)

4. Decide on a settled formation

As is the norm when a team has been struggling for consistency, there has been plenty of chopping and changing in Neville's tactics. In fact, he has already used five different formations in the eight league games, trying out 4-3-3, 5-3-2, 4-4-2, 4-1-4-1 and 4-2-3-1. He quickly needs to decide on his preferred method and stick to it.

5. Get all of his best players fit and firing

Much of Neville's shuffling of his pack has been due to injuries to key players and things could be looking up on that front. Goalkeeper Diego Alves is closing in on a return after a serious knee injury while Enzo Perez is also nearing a comeback after fitness issues. With Jose Gaya and Sofiane Feghouli also in the early stages of a return to the starting XI in recent weeks, Neville will be looking forward to working with some key players.