Gary Neville will be part of Sky's coverage of Manchester United v Leicester City tonight, but spent yesterday as engaging company for the Dublin-meedja.
Neville gave a series of interviews to promote Cadbury as the official snack partner of the Premier League, and he spoke to Balls on a range of topics including the Liam Miller Tribute Game and Liverpool's chances of challenging Man City for the title.
Listen to the interview in full below.
He also spoke, naturally, of Manchester United, and of his belief that United are treated differently than others by the media. Neville agreed with Mourinho's assertion yesterday that ""when I listen, when I read – not much but sometimes I do – it is difficult to believe that we finished second because you [the media] are capable of making people who finished second look like they were relegated and capable of making people who win nothing and finish below us look like serial winners".
He's having a dig and he's right to have a dig. They finished second last season, and people are making it out like they've been relegated. There are teams that finished below them and everyone makes it out like they were champions. He's pointing the finger there towards Liverpool and Tottenham.
Everyone glorifies the achievements of those two clubs, because they like the managers, they like the style of football. But those two clubs haven't won a trophy. Man United won two clubs and finished second in the last two years. So I think he thinks: 'Why are we being put under all the pressure?'
Neville cited a couple of recent Daily Mail articles as proof:
There is a different approach towards United. Paul Pogba and Dele Alli were pictured in the Mail Online -- two stories apart. It was like Paul Pogba with his shorts on holiday. It was 'Paul Pogba absent while his team-mates struggle on tour.' And it was: 'Dele Alli relaxing and preparing for a new Premier League season.' So the editorial is completely different when we talk about Man United, compared with Tottenham or Liverpool.
When asked this is as a result of the doleful tone to much of Mourinho's pre-season comments, Neville agreed somewhat:
You could argue that is the case because of Jose's interviews, but you've got to look at it in the round.
What I would say is it's not been a well-managed pre-season for United from a publicity point of view. You don't want negativity. Even when we were there, Sir Alex Ferguson would at times create this siege mentality - us against the world.
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