Phil Neville: 'Criticism of my commentating skills was brutal'

Phil Neville has admitted that he received some "brutal" criticism for his debut as a commentator during the World Cup in Brazil.

The 37-year-old joined the BBC's commentary team for England's opening group game in Manaus, which ended in a 2-1 defeat to Italy, but was widely mocked for his monotone delivery.

After arriving back in the UK, Neville wrote in his BBC Sport column: "I had done lots of practising off-screen over the previous two months. Unfortunately it just did not go as well on the night as I thought it would.

"It was straight after the game that I found out the reaction to it all. I went on social media and it was pretty brutal.

"I understand why - it was an England game, late on a Saturday night back home, and emotions were running high. And, doing that job, I am there to be shot at."

Neville went on to praise the BBC for giving him a further three games to commentate on and reveals that he has received positive reactions since his debut.