Valencia sporting director forced to say sorry after Gary Neville's side thrashed 7-0 by Barcelona

The humiliating defeat came in the first-leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi celebrate (GETTY IMAGES)

Valencia's sporting director was forced to apologise to fans after Gary Neville's side were humiliated 7-0 by Barcelona.

Luis Suarez scored four and Lionel Messi bagged a hat-trick as Barca ran riot in the first-leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final meeting, an evening Neville described afterwards as "one of my most painful nights in football".

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."

The result will put more pressure on Neville who is still to win a league game in eight attempts since taking the job in Spain.

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."