Phil Neville believes people want him to fail as England Women’s manager. The 41-year-old knows his appointment five weeks ago caused uproar in certain quarters, a situation inflamed by the recall of sexist tweets.

Yet Neville spent his playing career with Manchester United, Everton and England trying to prove his worth and is determined to show his appointment was not the mistake many believe it was. He takes charge of his first game on Thursday, against France in the SheBelieves Cup, and then faces Germany and the USA – the top two teams in the world – in New Jersey and Orlando respectively over the following six days.

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“People are going to be watching this game wanting us to lose,” Neville said. “We know that is going to happen. People want me to fail, 100%. They want me to come here and lose all three games. But do you know what? That’s just how it was in my playing career.

“It’s part of my motivation. The team have got their motivation, I have got mine. It is to show people that we will be successful.

“I think it’s the English mentality of wanting people to fail. I’m sure Gareth Southgate feels the same way sometimes. But also I think it was a surprise to people that I wanted to take this job and the negativity that surrounded it – there are people who want me to fail. The way I’ve been received inside the women’s game has been nothing short of fantastic.”

Neville was appointed despite little to no experience of the women’s game and having taken charge of only one men’s match. His task in the US has been made all the more daunting by losing the captain, Steph Houghton, Jordan Nobbs, her deputy, and the forward Karen Carney to injury.

England have competed in the annual SheBelieves tournament for the past two years and have won only one of their six matches. The ultimate aim for Neville is to win next year’s World Cup in France.

“I’m not going to be judged by my bosses at the FA off these three games,” he said. “But they know they are three massive games and, if you look at England’s record in this tournament, we have found it difficult to win games. It’s going to be no different this time. But this is a chance for us to make a statement.

“If we had played a team we are better than in my first game and won 3-0 or 4-0, I wouldn’t have learned anything. I have already learned that the players who are here want to be here. And I know over the next 10 days what standards are required. We are playing the No 1 and No 2 teams in the world and I will see them at eye level. We will see how good they are.”

Rachel Daly, Abbie McManus and Georgia Stanway were called up late on, along with the Manchester City keeper Ellie Roebuck, 19, who was taken on the trip for some invaluable experience. Neville has been left flabbergasted by their reaction.

“We had a brilliant moment on Monday night when the four young girls I’ve called into the squad, we made them stand up in front of the group and explain what playing for England meant to them,” he said.

“I’ve got to say, it’s one of the best moments I’ve had in football. It was emotional. It means the world to them. I called Georgia Stanway on Saturday evening – she had played for Manchester City against Chelsea and was on her way back up to Barrow-in-Furness with her dad in the car.

“She was at the Tickled Trout services in Preston and I had to ask him to come off the motorway and turn back around and bring her back down to us because I’m picking her for England. She said she would run down to meet us. Those are the type of players I want.”