Gary Neville was revealed as new manager of Aston Villa this afternoon, filling a managerial void that was left by Paul Lambert who recently resigned from his role at the club to take the helm of Swansea City, a club that finished six places above Villa last season.
“I’m very happy to take on this team,” Neville announced in his opening press conference. “The squad is filled with untapped potential and, to me, looks like it can only improve in the next couple of seasons.”
“Of course there are problems with the team, holes in the squad that need to be filled, but it’s like that with any team. I’m certain that I can make the sufficient changes that will allow us to move forwards.”
“I just wanted to thank Randy Lerner for giving me this chance despite my inexperience in management. It’s a big risk to take as a chairman in giving me this opportunity, but I’m confident it will pay off for him.”
“We [Neville & Lerner] talked about expectations, and we agreed that Villa have no place being a bottom-half team. They should really be up challenging for continental qualifications. That’s where I’d like to take them, in the long run. I am not saying it will be easy to do that, but it’s what should really be expected of this club, given it’s history.”
The club also announced a large change in the club’s backroom staff, Neville clearly eager to make his mark. The most notable change was brining in ex-Fulham assistant manager and long-time follower of Martin Jol, Michael Lindeman, as his assistant.