Phil Neville Quotes

The common vision is winning – and winning a World Cup. We have a three-year plan – win the World Cup, win the Olympics, win the Euros – and the common agreement is you want to create a legacy and win the World Cup; then, everything else falls into place.

I’d been coaching since the end of my playing career, first with England’s Under 21s, then Manchester United, and finally, in Spain with Valencia.

I’ve proved I’m in love with the women’s game, and I think the quality is unbelievable.

I could play anywhere. I played everywhere on the pitch for United, apart from No. 9 or keeper.

I don’t want to rush into retirement and regret it, because people say play as long as possible until the legs can’t take any more.

It’s not science; it’s common sense: it’s playing the right players in the right positions for the style of football you want to implement in a specific game.

When you talk about the ambition to get more girls to play at a younger age, they are inspired by watching Toni Duggan and Steph Houghton playing, either live or by watching it on television.

When it came to Sociedad, I didn’t want to come back into football so soon after the Manchester United experience.

To be a manager, you’ve got to gamble. Be brave, be bold, but be humble in everything that you do, and from the kit man to the physio to your best player to your youngest player, make sure you treat everybody the same.

When I’m retired, I want to be able to tell my kids I played in a European Cup final. I don’t want to have to say I watched one from the substitutes’ bench, then kept getting knocked out in the quarters and semis.

From facing a manager for the past 16 years to suddenly being the one person everyone is looking at is a daunting prospect. It’s something I want to be prepared for. If I get the opportunity, I don’t want to let myself down.

Within 10 minutes of a WSL game finishing, virtually ever player gets feedback on their performances in terms of England-level requirements.

My sister is one of the best netball players England’s ever produced, and she is now England manager. Almost every day, we sit round the table; we talk about what she’s done in her job, how she’s dealt with players. I’ve followed her pathway.

I played for England at cricket and football. Playing at Wembley in front of 60,000 people seemed better than playing at Cirencester in front of my family and friends.

Management is all-encompassing. That’s something I’ve learned since starting this job. I find it very difficult to switch off. I can be at the cinema or out for a meal with my wife, and I’m thinking constantly about what my players are doing.

I’m going to prove I can coach in the women’s game and prove I can manage an England team to success.

I have got two paths – one to go into the media, the other to go into coaching and management. I have got offers from both.

We pick players on their profiles. Over the years, I’ve learned that, if you have one cog that’s not quite right in the system, that flow of how you want to play can’t work.

As a manager, you can only worry about those who can get on the bus, and those are the fit ones. Injuries and illnesses mean opportunities for others.

If Jose Mourinho came to Man United, you would think, with his track record, that in maybe three seasons he would be gone. Man United are looking at the next 20 years. They’ve just given David Moyes a six-year contract. It is that kind of club.

I came out with a few plaudits, and I don’t really enjoy that because I am a team player. I don’t shout about myself, and I’ve always been team-orientated, so maybe that is why I have always slipped under the radar throughout my career.

I do my best thinking when I’m out running. When I’m out in the hills around Manchester, that’s when my head clears. That’s when I think about the things I’m going to say to my players in the biggest moments.

People leave United and tend to drift out of the game. I actually think I became a better player and a better person. I proved a lot of doubters wrong.

I’ll definitely play cricket again, but only socially. I’ve still got a lot of friends at my local team, Green Mount, and I do miss playing, but I don’t regret anything.

My passion is coaching, and I see myself more as a head coach with a more continental approach, in charge of football, running the training programme, the players.

Whether you’re male or female, going to a World Cup is the biggest thing that will ever happen in your life.

The SheBelieves was my big moment, my big breakthrough. We had to get on that platform, hold that trophy, and have that medal around our necks.

My expectation levels are probably higher than what’s achievable. But I have to keep pushing the standards.

I took the job at United fully expecting to be walking around after the last home game of the season either challenging for a league title or parading a league title because that’s what this club demands.

I want to widen the pool. In the past, England players have maybe had the comfort of knowing what the next squad is going to be before it’s announced, but I’d like there to be more uncertainty. More competition for places means the standard goes up.

I won the league at Middlesbrough with Manchester United, and I wore my medal for the next two or three days because I thought, ‘I want this again – and the best want it again and again’.

When I went to Spain two years ago, I only knew three Valencia players. I didn’t know anything about La Liga, and within six months, I knew everything. I was speaking another language and knew everything about the game, so I am a fast learner.

It’s part of the captain’s job to keep people on their toes.