Tracey Neville has admitted she is not the right candidate for the current England netball manager role, while Tamsin Greenway has revealed she has not been asked whether she wants the job.
Anna Stembridge is set to take over as manager until after the summer’s Commonwealth Games after Jess Thirlby decided to step down due to family issues.
But after the Olympics, all eyes will again be on the Netball World Cup in Sydney from August 25 to September 5, where England will have new leadership.
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Tamsin Greenway reacts to the news that England netball coach Thirlby has resigned just four months after the opening of the Commonwealth Games.
Neville, who became managing director of Stockport County Women’s football team last month, said: “Am I the obvious choice? Of course I am.” This is Sky Sports’ Off the Court podcast.
“But did I make the right choice? Absolutely not.
“Prior to taking the Stockport County Women job, I had great conversations with Sue Campbell (England Netball Chair) and Fran Connolly (England Netball CEO).
“And Sue Campbell is very clear about where I am in my career, what my intentions are, and from my perspective now, the challenges I face in my particular role are exactly where I want to be.
“I absolutely love working at Stockport County, so she would have 100% known that (returning to England Netball) was not the next step.”
Neville was a popular choice to return long before Thirlby’s decision was announced. That’s because she was the only coach to lead England to Commonwealth gold before resigning in 2019 to start a family.
Meanwhile, Greenway, who coaches London Mavericks and would be another popular choice, said he had not been contacted at all about the decision and believed he had not spoken to coaches in the Netball Super League.
“No, I wasn’t asked a question.” Greenway said.
“I think my phone is broken, that’s why there is no reception in London.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a phone call to any of the current Super League English managers. I don’t think that’s happened anyway.
“Do you think that should have happened? I don’t know. I don’t know what the protocols are.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming. Whatever happened, I think it was all a very quick turnaround.”
