When Gary Neville was offered the opportunity to become a member of Roy Hodgson’s coaching staff at the FA, among the first people he wanted to tell was Sir Alex Ferguson.

It just felt right, to break the news to the man who was his manager and mentor for all those years at Manchester United.

Middle man: Gary Neville at England training

‘He already knew,’ said Neville. ‘I was panicking, walking into his office. But he knew about 10 days before I did, as per usual. Roy had spoken to him. I thought “That is just typical”.

‘I was always going to speak to him. I wanted him to be one of the first people to know about it.’

Clearly, Ferguson gave Neville a glowing reference and encouraged his former skipper to take the job, too. ‘He was very positive,’ said Neville. ‘He thought it would be good for me.’

This is the first time Neville has really spoken about becoming an England coach and he is as candid as ever. He reflects on his own experiences as an England player just as he discusses the role he now hopes to play with this generation of internationals.

He talks about the benefit of working as a television pundit for the past year and how he plans to remain on our screens in the future. But he also talks about his Red Nev past; his brushes with the  governing body he now serves and even about the observations he made with regard to the current crop of England players in his role as a newspaper columnist.

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