Jamie Carragher is being encouraged to follow in Gary Neville’s footsteps

Gary Neville's first week in charge of Valencia was a mixed bag.

He had a watching brief as his charges, under the guidance of younger brother Phil, secured a 1-1 draw with Barcelona on Saturday. But things soured quickly for the former Sky Sports pundit when he witnessed his side lose 2-0 to Lyon in the Champions League and drop down to the Europa League. There was much surprise at his move from TV analysis straight into top flight management in Spain. However one Premier League boss feels that Neville's former right hand man on Monday Night Football should also be looking to get into management. Tony Pulis told the BBC that he spoke to Jamie Carragher after Neville's appointment and urged him not to wait too long to take on a role on the sideline.

"I'm absolutely delighted Gary has gone and taken the job." "I rang Carragher up afterwards and said 'make sure you don't wait too long to make the move (into management) yourself'. I really want younger players who have been very good professionals to have a crack at management." "Some of them will be very good, some of them will find it difficult, some of them won't enjoy it. But have a crack at it and let's get those British coaches through."

Pulis feels that not enough English players of the last 10 years have gone into management, but he feels that three recent Sky pundits would be ideal men to coach and mange at the very top level,

"The top players of the last generation seemed to bypass management. "I've been impressed with Gary Neville on the TV, I've spoken to Jamie Carragher a lot, I know Jamie Redknapp too. They are three you would say could be successful as managers."