FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 file photo, Valencia's head coach Gary Neville arrives for a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Madrid at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain. Gary Neville knew that coaching at a high level wasnât going to be easy. He certainly didnât expect to be struggling so badly so early. Less than two months into his first head-coaching job, the former England great is already in danger of being fired. Publicly, the club is backing up Neville despite the disappointing results and the increased pressure from supporters unsatisfied with the coach. "Gary arrived when we were going through a difficult situation," Valencia's sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch said Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. "We know he can overcome this situation. We have to be patient." (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz, File)
The Associated Press
MADRID (AP) - Gary Neville says he has been unfairly judged as Valencia coach despite admitting that the team's winless streak in the Spanish league is "unacceptable."
Neville said after the 1-0 loss at Real Betis on Sunday that "the obituaries have already been written," but he feels he can still turn things around.
The team has been playing well, he said, but things "are just not going our way in this moment in time."
Valencia hasn't won in 12 league rounds, nine of those under the command of the former Manchester United and England player. The club was humiliated 7-0 by Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday.
Valencia dropped to 13th in the league standings with Sunday's loss, four points off the relegation zone.
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 file photo, Valencia's head coach Gary Neville arrives for a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Madrid at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain. Gary Neville knew that coaching at a high level wasnât going to be easy. He certainly didnât expect to be struggling so badly so early. Less than two months into his first head-coaching job, the former England great is already in danger of being fired. Publicly, the club is backing up Neville despite the disappointing results and the increased pressure from supporters unsatisfied with the coach. "Gary arrived when we were going through a difficult situation," Valencia's sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch said Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. "We know he can overcome this situation. We have to be patient." (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz, File)
The Associated Press