Tracey Neville has acknowledged she is not the right person, at this time, to take over as England Netball head coach. Her comments come after Jess Thirlby stepped down for family reasons and Anna Stembridge was appointed interim head coach until after the Commonwealth Games this summer.
With the Netball World Cup in Sydney scheduled from August 25 to September 5, England may still face a leadership decision ahead of that tournament. Neville, who last month became managing director of Stockport County Women, said she is an obvious name for the job but made clear she would not be the right choice now.
Neville told Sky Sports’ Off The Court Podcast that she had already discussed her situation with England Netball chair Sue Campbell and CEO Fran Connolly. She said Campbell understood her current career intentions and that she is happy in her role at Stockport County, making a return to England Netball unlikely in the near term.
Neville previously coached England to Commonwealth gold before stepping down in 2019 to start a family, and had been widely regarded as a leading candidate to return even before Thirlby’s resignation.
Tamsin Greenway, who coaches London Mavericks and is another name often mentioned for the national role, said she was not contacted about the vacancy. She suggested no current Netball Super League coaches had been approached, joking that perhaps her phone had no reception, and said she was unsure what the correct protocol should have been given the quick turnaround of events.