Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher fear the sack by Sky Sports at ‘any minute’

Fan-favourites Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have admitted they too are conscious of being axed by Sky Sports.

The Manchester United and Liverpool legends have become Sky's go-to pundits over the last decade. Neville has been working for the broadcaster since 2011, albeit with a break in-between for his ill-fated managerial spell at Valencia.

Carragher joined two years after and the pair put their past rivalry behind them and went on to become partners in crime on Monday Night Football, before also hopping onto co-commentary for top-flight games.

They're part of the furniture of Sky's football coverage nowadays – but neither are taking their positions for granted and are aware the situation could change in the blink of an eye.

READ MORE: Gary Neville calls Valencia stint 'shambolic' — but is able to laugh about it now

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Neville said: "I don’t really think about how long it’s been. But it is hard, you know. It’s not playing football, it’s not being a manager, but anyone who looks at it and thinks, ‘Oh, they’re just on television, talking about football’… well, yeah, OK.

"But there are thousands of jobs all over the world now doing this, so to stay at Sky, the Premier League rights-holders in this country, and on shows like Super Sunday and Monday Night Football, the demands are high.

Who, if anyone, could replace Neville and Carragher? Let us know in the comments section.

"To stay there for several years is an achievement, because it’s probably a gig that most people would want. If you think of the top gigs in football punditry, there’s only three or four.

"Working on major tournaments, Match of the Day, Monday Night Football – they’re the pinnacle of football broadcasting.

"We know it will be taken away from us the minute it doesn’t work any more, so we’re very conscious of making sure we change things all of the time."

Carragher added to that point, explaining he and Neville know they can't rest on their laurels and stick to the tried and tested. He said: "Yeah, we know what viewers think because we’re viewers ourselves, and you don’t want to watch exactly the same thing every single season.

"I don’t want to do that and I don’t think Gary does. We always want new ideas, different guests, different formats. Friday Night Football, which we’ve done for the last three or four years, was a good example: the format was completely different to the other shows that we do."

The new football season is nearly upon us and with 500 live games to watch, as well access to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL and the NBA across eight dedicated channels, Sky Sports is the only way to watch all the action.

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While it's hard to imagine the duo not on our TV screens, Sky bosses have proved in recent years they're not afraid to swing the axe when they feel it's necessary.

They gave Soccer Saturday trio Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson the sack ahead of the 2020/21 season, a decision which remains highly controversial with viewers.

A freshen up of their offerings also saw Soccer AM taken off air after nearly 30 years at the end of last season, while pitchside reporter Geoff Shreeves has left the company this summer after three decades of service.

Martin Tyler worked closely with Neville and Carragher on commentary, and even the iconic voice behind the Premier League's biggest games was let go this summer.

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