The former England defender was close to joining the BBC last summer, but he instead chose to accept a coaching role under David Moyes at Old Trafford.

Moyes’ departure meant Neville was no longer required at United and the 37-year-old will now join Match of the Day for its 50th anniversary season.

“I see this as a vital time in my coaching and managerial career – I’ve got a 25-year plan,” Neville said.

“I want to build my own philosophy, I want to write my own philosophy, I want to watch and study games, I want to spend time with top managers.

“That’s the whole philosophy of everything from the Under-8s to the first team, from the discipline to the style.

“I’ve been fortunate in the last 12 months to read other people’s philosophies.

“I want to build up a dossier, a bible so that when I go into a club I can say, ’This is what I’m about’.”

Neville taking a seat on the Match of the Day sofa follows a growing trend of former players choosing the media over the dugout.

Phil’s brother Gary has enjoyed great success as a pundit with Sky Sports, while the likes of Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy and Rio Ferdinand have also opted for roles in television.

“I spent 12 months in football last year and I had an opportunity to take a few managerial jobs in the summer,” Neville said.

“But people keep telling me about the average lifespan of a manager – it’s eight months in the Championship.

“I’ve got 25 years of work left in me and I wasn’t going to jump into a manager’s job in the summer because I’m probably not prepared.

“If I went into a club – what is my philosophy? It’s sad people are going into the media, but that’s the way coaching is at the moment.

“There isn’t much longevity and because of that, in some ways it’s not that enjoyable.”

Moyes was sacked after just 10 months in charge at United.

An awful season saw the Red Devils finish seventh in the table and record their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League.

“It was an unbelievable learning curve, it taught me a lot,” Neville said.

“From a coaching point of view it was the best experience of my life – it was better than any part of my playing career.

“I found it more inspiring than playing. To come off and see the players enjoy the session you’ve put on – that was more rewarding than playing for me.”

It has been suggested one of Moyes’ greatest problems was Sir Alex Ferguson’s ongoing influence at Old Trafford.

The former United boss chose Moyes as his successor and was regularly pictured watching matches in the stands.

Neville, however, disagrees.

“I don’t think we saw him enough,” Neville said.

“We saw him probably two or three times – he stayed really well out of it.

“He didn’t once come into the dressing room. He came on the plane once and we had a drink with him when we won at Bayer Leverkusen.

“At the start of the season I thought we’d see a lot more of him but he stayed away a lot. Those accusations are unfair.”

Neville endured a baptism of fire while working for the BBC as a co-commentator during the World Cup this summer.

He received a barrage of criticism on Twitter following England’s defeat to Italy as supporters complained about his analysis and delivery.

“I’ll never forget the night after the game in Manaus – I got back to my hotel room and it was similar to being back in the football world,” Neville said.

“If you’re a player and you go on Twitter after losing a game it’s pretty brutal – and it’s no different as a pundit.

“It’s something I was aware of and I found it quite simple to handle really.

“People say I was thrown in at the deep end, but I wasn’t at all, it was just a bad night at the office.

“England lost, which doesn’t go down well. Eventually people will have to forget about it and move on.”

— Match of the Day at 50 will air on BBC1 at 10.35pm on Friday, August 22.