Gary Neville was appointed as Valencia head coach in December

Valencia president Layhoon Chan says Gary Neville's position as head coach was never under threat.

Speculation surrounding Neville's position at Valencia intensified following a run of 12 La Liga matches without a win.

However, speaking after Valencia recorded three victories in just over a week, including a 6-0 thrashing of Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, Chan has revealed Neville's position was not in jeopardy.

"You cannot dismiss a coach for a poor run when the players believe in him - they believe in Gary Neville," she told AS. "I do understand the football culture in Spain, but we have belief in what we are doing and we will continue in the direction which we believe is the right one.

"And with Gary we have been doing well; now the victories are coming. We are looking to secure a project. The first year went better than we expected, this year hasn't but we will continue to keep investing."

Neville was a surprise appointment in December when he was chosen to replace Nuno at Mestalla.

It was the former Manchester United defender's first managerial role and, Chan reveals, was aided by his friendship with Valencia owner Peter Lim.

"We took refuge in Gary Neville because we know him," says Chan. "We know his leadership qualities and we needed a motivator - someone who could reactivate the team and who could restore the relationship with the fans.

"We were aware that he had not coached a team before but we believed in him. He is a club man and he resolved the division in an instant. He was the ideal choice in our opinion.

After picking up a third sucessive victory, Gary Neville threw a few Spanish words into his press conferences After picking up a third sucessive victory, Gary Neville threw a few Spanish words into his press conferences

"We have a very young squad, with players who are not used to the pressure which has been forced on them and Gary was the ideal person to manage that anxiety although the results didn't arrive until this week."

Neville is only under contract with Valencia until the end of the season and Rafa Benitez has been reportedly linked with a return to the club as manager in the summer.

Asked whether Benitez will be back in the future, Chan said: "We cannot speak about next season at this moment in time."