Neville hits out at pampered stars

Gary Neville has backed Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's assertion that many modern players are mollycoddled.

Ferguson said in a speech at a League Managers Association dinner last week players were "cocooned" by their agents and had become "fragile".

Neville, writing in the Sunday Times of Malta, said: "I completely agree with his sentiments.

"It is one of my pet hates when I see players who have agents that do everything for them.

"They don't know how to set up their own bank account, they don't know what they're spending their money on and they can't make their own decisions.

"Not every player is like that, but some are now totally dependent on agents and advisers.

"For me, life is an education and you learn things as you go through it.

"I think a footballer should sit down and negotiate with a club, even if his agent is sitting with him. It is in a player's best interests to be there and see what is going on.

"The idea of allowing someone to look after your financial and professional existence is something I cannot agree with.

"There are some agents who do a good job looking after players, but there are others who stifle and mollycoddle players.

"Some agents will come into a player's life when he is 20, leave his life at 34 and never want to know that player again.

"Every footballer needs an adviser at some point.

"But a player doesn't need to pay between five and 15% of his wages to a guy to set up a bank account, buy him a new fridge, or ask his club's chief executive for a pay rise."