A DOG DAY EIGHT MONTHS

Last updated : 07 October 2004 By Editor
More on how amazed people are that a guy who gets circa £80,000 a week
turned up to work everyday for eight months. This is Gary Neville's take

"I never expected that anybody could show the professionalism Rio showed over that eight months,"

"When he first got the ban I didn't expect to see him again in the summer but
instead he came into training every day and gave his all.

"It was a dog's job in a way. He had to play against the first team in training all
the time because he wasn't available, yet still maintained the same focus as if he was preparing for a game.

"I don't think many players would have been able to do that. If you take away the chance of playing a game for a footballer, you are taking away their life.

"He was probably at the right club to maintain his professionalism, somewhere
where he wasn't just allowed to go off and have a few months off.

"But he still did everything right and gained a lot of respect from everyone
because of it."