England Netball: Head coach Jess Thirlby looks to Uganda series in World Cup preparations

The Roses lost to Australia in the Commonwealth Games semi-final and New Zealand in the bronze medal match, finishing fourth overall

It has been just eight weeks since England faced the disappointment of missing out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games by losing to New Zealand in the bronze-medal match.

Attention, however, has already turned to preparations for the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, with a three-match series against Uganda starting on Wednesday in Nottingham the first step.

England Roses head coach Jess Thirlby describes the past few months as an "emotional rollercoaster" but says her side must now "galvanise" for the series against a Uganda side who are ranked sixth in the world.

"It is the biggest test of our culture but to have opportunities coming round quickly focusses the mind," Thirlby says.

"It's important to acknowledge the emotion but also move forward.".

After Uganda, England face the challenge of travelling to Australia to face the Commonwealth champions and world number one side in another three-match series in November.

"We're in hunt of some more consistent performances against the best in the world. We were sad - but that turns very quickly into hunger and desire to be better," Thirlby says.

It has been a tough year for the Roses with captain Serena Guthrie announcing her retirement before the Commonwealth Games and experienced defenders Eboni Usoro-Brown and Stacey Francis-Bayman retiring post event.

Those departures inevitably create space for fresh faces and Thirlby has opted to select a less experienced squad for the Uganda series, paving the way for young talents like Natasha Pavelin and Olivia Tchine to wear the Roses dress for the first time.

A more familiar squad will travel to Australia but Thirlby says it would have been a missed opportunity to not give chances to players who have been "knocking on the door".

"We're trying to understand what is the best that we can give right now - this is exactly what we need, we're not shying away from it and we will put our best foot forward."

• England name squads for series against Uganda and Australia

'It will take a big leap to stay around the best teams in the world'

Having won Commonwealth gold in 2018, expectations were high this summer but finishing fourth meant England slipped to fourth in the world rankings, behind Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica.

Thirlby, a former England player, says: "Ultimately we weren't at our full best - to be able to win and keep winning takes time. We got found out in those final games."

The Commonwealth Games was her biggest challenge as coach to date, having taken the mantle from Tracey Neville after the 2019 World Cup. She took over during a period of change for the Roses, while also having to contend with an unpredictable international schedule and global lockdowns.

In previous years, the squad all-but picked itself, with experienced players like Guthrie, Usoro-Brown, Jade Clarke and Geva Mentor at the heart of a strong group of players.

With those players moving on or preparing to do so and a breadth of emerging young talent emerging, Thirlby admits there is now an element of managing expectations.

"We're far from the finished product and we're aware of what we're up against - but it's important we're comfortable knowing we're going to win some and lose some and it is going to be bumpy," she says.

"After 2018 we were never entitled to just keep winning, it takes a lot of work and we haven't had a lot of those players around so we had to uncover more talent and accelerate as best we could."

The England side that take to court against Uganda will be a different one to that which played in Birmingham

Come February, players will go back to their respective domestic teams, many of which are in Australia, and Thirlby will have to deal with the challenges of having a squad scattered across the world.

"It's important we're improving between major tournaments - I feel we've done that and we're doing it with a generation of Roses that not many people had heard of two or three years ago," she adds.

"It's going to take another big leap to close the gap and stay around the best teams in the world."

Thirlby did receive criticism after the Commonwealth Games, with some suggesting she failed to pick her best starting seven or made the wrong substitutions during matches.

"Criticism will come at any head coach and that's natural," she admits.

"My hope is that people will still remain supportive and excited of what is going to be an incredible generation of Roses long after my time in the post.

"We're on the cusp of something special and we just have to be okay with the bumps over the next couple of years while we try and establish ourselves more in the top order."