Neville, who signed a six-month contract at the Mestalla, watched from the stands as his new charges snatch a fortuitous 1-1 draw against Barcelona on Saturday.

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The 40-year-old was Ferguson’s pupil at Manchester United, part of the Class of ’92, where the former right-back won two Champions Leagues and eight Premier League titles.

And despite being flung into a huge job in a foreign country, Ferguson is backing him to be a big success.

Valencia's new coach Gary Neville (L) poses with his shirt next to the club's president Chan Lay Hoon during his presentation at the Mestalla Image credit: Reuters

"Typical Gary," Ferguson said at the TechCrunch Disrupt London event. "He's got the courage to do something like this. It's a big step for him - owning Salford City Football Club to managing Valencia.

"But he's got the football experience and he's got that role with England that will help him too and the most important thing that he's got, he's got an incredible determination about him. He's a good decision maker, he's prepared to make a decision and he's got that positive attitude.

"He's a winner, he's an absolute winner and I think he'll do really well.

"His brother Phil was a far more talented footballer. Everyone in England wanted Phil and we took Gary simply because he was determined, and he was a centre-back at that time.

"But he had something in him and he made himself a footballer. He worked, he practised, he had an incredible determination that made him what he is today.

"He's an incredible human being, everything he touches turns to gold. I think he will do well. He'll be a success."

Ferguson has already expressed his support for Neville, saying he had “many attributes that suggest he will be successful in management”.

The Scot conceded, however, the language barrier could prove problematic – Neville has a non-existent grasp of Spanish – but said making a sustained effort to learn can go a long way.

"I spoke to him, he came to my house. I said, 'be yourself, trust your conviction which you've done throughout your playing career. It never let you down'," Ferguson said. "And I think that will help him.

"He's got the language barrier and he's going to try and correct that and make sure he's taking the lessons every day which is a proper step, he has to do that. He has to communicate with the players and they'll appreciate he's trying.

"English people, British people don't necessarily buy into languages, they always depend on people being able to speak English. In this situation Gary has got to learn Spanish."

Neville takes his first venture on to the touchline as manager against Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday.

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