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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

Phil Neville: England Women's manager set to step down in summer 2021

The Football Association is expected to announce that England Women's manager Phil Neville will step down in the summer of 2021.

The Times reported on Wednesday that Neville will be leaving his role as the Lionesses' coach once his current contract expires next year, with an announcement is expected on Thursday.

Neville's contract had originally taken him through to the end of the Women's Euro 2021 tournament, but the competition is expected to be postponed until 2022 due to the coronavirus shutdown.

Standard Sport understands that Neville will make way for a new manager next summer, with his successor having a year to prepare for the European Championships.

It remains to be seen who will take charge of Team GB's women's side at the Olympics, given that the Tokyo Games have also been pushed back.

England's poor showing in their SheBelieves Cup defence earlier this year raised question marks over Neville's future - and the coach admitted he deserved the scrutiny.

Having reached the World Cup quarter-finals last year, Neville accepted that recent performances - from both himself and his squad - were not got enough, with the Lionesses losing seven of their last 11 matches in all competitions.

"Questions should be asked because I expect better," he told the BBC.

"I'll always look at myself. I'll go away, I'll reflect and we'll take it from there."

The former Manchester United and Everton defender succeeded Mark Sampson as manager of the Lionesses in January 2018, signing a contract until 2021, leading them to glory in the 2019 SheBlieves Cup.

Additional reporting by PA.

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