TRACEY Neville’s stellar netball CV includes 81 England caps, a clutch of Commonwealth Games medals and more than 400 top-flight club appearances.

But the likeable sister of Premier League superstars Phil and Gary is quite happy to start at the bottom again as she embarks on a “six-year plan” to turn the North East from a netball backwater into a national powerhouse.

That is the challenge facing Neville as she embarks on her first season as head coach of Team Northumbria, the young, promising but raw team that finished bottom of the inaugural netball Superleague last year.

A new campaign sees the team move to a new venue – the impressive £30million Sport Central complex – as well as new sponsorship from hotel chain Eurohostel and a fresh influx of local talent.

But it is the drive, professional ethos and enthusiasm of the workaholic Neville that has done much to spark talk of a revolution in North East netball.

The early signs, certainly, are positive. Her youthful side were beaten by champions Surrey Storm in the first round of fixtures at the weekend but a superb first-half performance against a team brimming with internationals has prompted genuine enthusiasm that Northumbria will have a team to challenge at the top by the middle of the decade.

“I think, in a way, it was a good thing for me that we did finish bottom of the table last year,” she admits.

”I don’t want people to think that because I’m here, the table will flip round overnight. That will not happen.

“But with the quality of players we’ve got and the way we’re developing, in six years time hopefully it is achievable that we’re challenging at the top. At the moment, though, we’re still at the development stage.

“Over the last five months we’ve developed massively but all people will do is look on the website and see the score and not see the development that me and the coaches have seen. But I take a longer view and look to the future.”

On that front, the programme looks secure.

As well as linking in with local clubs to source the best North East talent, Team Northumbria will also benefit from playing at Sport Central – the international-class venue already utilised by the Newcastle Eagles basketball team. They play their first home game on Saturday against Team Bath, last year’s runners-up.

Playing at such a superb arena was a lure, Neville admits, but not as much as the ambition of the university for the sport.

“The arena is fantastic but it wasn’t just a building,” he said.

“I think the people are really important. I saw a passion for netball and a commitment to developing it in the eyes of the team Northumbria and Northumbria Uni management.

“They had the same ideas and they gave me an open book which is great for me.

“I have seen some people go into jobs and be told what to do and not develop new ideas – but that won’t be the case here.”