Gary Neville vows to take Europa League seriously

Gary Neville will take the Europa League seriously but “couldn’t care less” about who Valencia draw after Manchester United also dropped into the Europa League.

Neville oversaw his first match as Valencia boss on Wednesday evening, with the Spanish side suffering elimination after Lyon’s 2-0 victory consigned them to third place in their group.

The same fate befell Neville’s former side United a day prior, and the two teams could now meet in the Europa League knockout stages in the new year.

Neville is not thinking about a potential reunion, however, and is instead concentrating on improving Valencia’s fortunes.

“In the end I think the energy was an issue rather than the heart,” Neville said.

“These players have been playing three games a week and it showed tonight, but I can’t fault their effort.

“We didn’t have that edge, that spark. The Barcleona game was a huge effort for all the players.”

On the Europa League, Neville added: “We will take the competition seriously.

“As for [drawing Manchester United] I’m just thinking about Sunday’s game [vs Eibar] and making sure the players are best-prepared for Sunday.

“I couldn’t care less about whether we play Manchester United or someone else in the Europa League, that’s in the future.”