England Netball head coach Tracey Neville to step down

England Netball head coach Tracey Neville is to step down after July's World Cup in Liverpool after four years in charge.

Neville, 42, led the Roses to Commonwealth gold in 2018, having taken over from Anna Mayes ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Australia.

The former England shooter says her decision to step down is to "start a family".

"I hope to get an opportunity to lead again in the future," Neville said.

"My ambition to have a family is something I want to commit to after the World Cup.

"To the staff and players, past and present, you have challenged me in every way possible and I am eternally grateful for your commitment and support."

Under Neville's leadership, England have risen in the world rankings, and won world cup bronze in her first major tournament at the helm, three years before their memorable win over Australia in the Commonwealth Games final on the Gold Coast in April 2018.

Neville made 81 appearances for England and took on the head coach role following a successful stint at Manchester Thunder during which she led the side to two Superleague titles, in 2012 and 2014.

England begin their World Cup campaign against Uganda on Friday, 12 July.

Former England wing attack Tamsin Greenway, who was player-coach at Surrey Storm, winning two consecutive Superleague titles before moving to Wasps and repeating the feat, is among the frontrunners to replace Neville.

"For me, there is never a perfect time but it would be very difficult to turn down and I would never rule myself out," she said.

Greenway, who returned to playing after having her first child in 2013 and is currently pregnant with her second, says the decision for female coaches and players to start a family is a "difficult" one, especially in international netball.

"It's difficult for a player or coach to commit to four years and that's the reality of international netball," Greenway, 36, said.

"You don't get it until you actually have a kid how tough it is - balancing it all, the finances, fitting in the family time and we're not getting paid millions like footballers are."

Greenway, who played under Neville's leadership when England won bronze at the 2015 Word Cup, added that she was "genuinely surprised" to hear the news that Neville would step down.

She said: "It's a job that asks quite a lot of you but it is a very difficult job to step away from, it's the dream job.

"But it's the smart decision and this will not affect the England camp - it's good that Tracey has been honest and upfront.

"Tracey and the players believe they can win gold and why wouldn't they? It would be the best way to go out on top."

Apart from putting her own name in the hat for the role, Greenway tips former Loughborough Lightning head coach Karen Atkinson to take the reigns from Neville.

"There will always be coaches who want to coach a top international side but I would like to see the next coach come from within England," she said.

"Karen Atkinson would be a smart choice as she offers something different and has a great netball brain.

"The next coach will need to work hard on the development of players as the current squad has taken 10 years to reach its peak and some players will probably retire after the world cup."

Loughborough Lightning head coach and Greenway's former England team-mate Sara Bayman says Neville's announcement could come as a "distraction" for the England players, but that they will "want to do well" for their coach.

"I think everyone expected Tracey to do another four-year cycle and I think this one will send a few shockwaves around world netball," Bayman, 34, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"The options are fairly limited if you look around the UK but Tamsin Greenway is your obvious frontrunner as she's already had so much success with Wasps and Storm."