The Everton captain also said he had no sympathy for the current turmoil at Liverpool and stressed that players should never use off-field problems as an excuse for poor results.

“To be honest, I don’t care what goes on there,” he said. “You relish the fact they are below you. I don’t think since I have ever been on Merseyside that has happened. It is something you would like to happen more often.

"Everton fans have been looking up to them for a long, long time. It’s about time we started putting pressure to finish above them. This season gives us a great chance of that.

“All I care about is what goes on at Everton and the stuff that happens in the upper echelons of your club is just all a side-show for me.”

Although both Merseyside teams are currently in the bottom four of the Premier League, Neville described any thoughts of relegation as “unthinkable” and said that he simply regarded next Sunday’s match as an opportunity to climb the table.

“Both teams are at the wrong end of the table and it is probably unprecedented for Merseyside to have two teams in the bottom four,” he said, “it’s a massive game; the Merseyside derbies are probably the biggest games I have played in club football.”

Danny Murphy, the ex-Liverpool midfielder, also spoke out about his former club’s plight and believes that Roy Hodgson is the ideal manager for their current situation. “There was a huge influx of Spanish staff and players, and other foreigners, under Rafa Benitez,” he said. “That took away what Liverpool was about in many ways. The spine and nucleus of the team was disbanded and that’s been going on for a few years. I would still say Roy is the right man to stabilise the club.”

Neville, who was a speaker at Thursday’s Leaders in Football conference, also described some of the wages in the Premier League as obscene but claimed that the pressure on players was causing them to get less enjoyment from representing England. He also admitted to sometimes bending the rules for his team’s advantage. “I’m not saying diving is part of the game but I want to win and will try to bend the rules,” he said.

I amazed that he's up early - it's not dark yet!

"Everton fans have been looking up to them for a long, long time...." - you don't say....