Tracey Neville: England Netball chief Joanna Adams 'grateful' to outgoing head coach

Neville led England to Commonwealth Games gold in April 2018

England Netball owes Tracey Neville "too much" for them not to keep the door open for a potential return, says chief executive Joanna Adams.

Neville announced on Monday she would step down as Roses head coach after July's Netball World Cup in Liverpool in order to start a family.

The 42-year-old, who told her players the news on Monday morning, led England to Commonwealth Games gold in 2018.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am," Adams told BBC Sport.

"Not just me, but the board, every member of the netball family; everyone who loves this sport loves her."

Adams revealed Neville had told her two weeks ago she would be stepping down, but said she was still "shocked and upset".

"I'm hugely disappointed - I've absolutely loved working with her but I completely and utterly understand her reasons," she added.

"If you look at what she did at Manchester Thunder, how many players she has brought through, in her own playing career - this isn't about just the last four years.

"But in the last four years, what she and the Roses have done on court has sent this sport into a totally different sphere."

'We felt it was the right thing to do' - announcement timing

Adams admitted Neville's decision had come "a bit out of the blue" but said England Netball wanted to announce her resignation before the World Cup in order to be "open and transparent".

"We didn't want to do it post-World Cup because we don't know what we will do there and we never wanted it to look like she had been asked to go. We absolutely did not want that to happen," she said.

"Tracey puts the programme first, so it gives us time to recruit somebody and give them time with Tracey to do a proper handover for when the girls come back into the programme on 3 September.

"There weren't many of us who knew, but equally we didn't want it to leak out and for her to be bombarded over the World Cup."

In a statement, Neville said she would "wholeheartedly continue to support" the Roses and England Netball, and Adams said the door would "absolutely" always be open for her return.

"I know that whoever comes into this post, I know she will help them," she said. "I know she will help anyone with England Netball, Superleague clubs if they want her help.

"She is still a young woman from a coaching perspective. She was given this opportunity as a very young woman, and there is every opportunity for her to come back.

"She won't leave England Netball. Netball has been her life; we owe too much to her to let her go. She loves this sport too much to not be a part of it going forward."

'They love her as head coach'

Adams said Roses players had been "upset" but "very respectful" when Neville told them the news, some in person and some over Skype.

But despite fears it could place extra pressure on their shoulders at the World Cup, Adams believes they will thrive on it.

"I think those girls will really want to make a point," Adams said. "They were always going to play hard at the World Cup, but I think they will want to send her off to the next phase of her life with something very, very special.

"They were obviously upset by the news, but they are a great team, they will all pull together and they will do as much as they possibly can to send her off in the best way they can."

The process to select Neville's replacement has begun, with England Netball keen to "start having conversations" with potential new head coaches now.

Former England wing attack Tamsin Greenway is among the frontrunners to replace Neville, as is former Loughborough Lightning head coach Karen Atkinson, but Adams said whoever was chosen as head coach would not be announced until after the World Cup.

"There are a few names on my list but we want to see as well who is prepared to throw their hat into the ring," she said. "You just don't know who might come forward for this role.

"It will be quite a taxing process I think to make sure we've got the right person, because we can't go backwards as a nation now. What Tracey has given this programme and driven those players to appreciate they can achieve.

"There will be a lot of youngsters coming in post-World Cup so we need to make sure the next head coach is absolutely spot on for us."

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