IT'S not just on the court that England's netball hopes have a local influence - the team's manager is former Bury Grammar School pupil Sally Horrox.

Thirty-four-year-old Sally has been in the England hotseat since just before the world championships in 1999 and is thoroughly enjoying her demanding role.

The post takes up around four to five months a year and she combines the salaried position with her legal consultancy business that recruits, trains and gives career guidance to lawyers.

Netball has always been her abiding passion so she admits it's a labour of love: "It's fantastic to get the chance to work in something you have a passion for - and to get paid for it is even better!" said Sally.

"It's a real privilege. I started off doing the job on a voluntary basis and as the sport became more professional and our world ranking increased sports lottery funding was more forthcoming.

"That meant and we were able to fund a number of senior management appointments such as myself as manager, coach Lyn Gunson, assistant coach Waimarama Taumaunu and physiotherapists. Those key appointments have made a difference."

It's a difference that Sally hopes will pay dividends on the court when England go into action tonight against Canada.

Realistically she is hoping England can secure a medal like they did in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 anything less would be a backward step.

"We are predicting the final four countries will be ourselves, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica and someone is going to miss out of a medal.

"Our primary aim is to make sure it is not us."

She points out that the major goal for Team England as a whole is to narrow the medals gap between themselves and Australia.

"We won 136 gold in Kuala Lumpur and want more this time but realistically in netball we may not beat the Aussies but if we got closer to them that would be an achievement.

"Thanks to our funding and the setting up of academies all over Britain the gap is closing and the sport is thriving in this country."

Splitting her time between West London where her business is, and Bath where her boyfriend hails from, Sally still turns out for two national league outfits Academy in Middlesex and Bath Toucans who play out of the Gloucestershire city's university.

And she even finds time to be player-manager of the Middlesex county team.

In the years immediately after leaving school Sally played for Bury Convent and Manchester YWCA teams in the Bury and Manchester Leagues.

Then after successfully studying for a law degree at Birmingham University and Chester College of Law she became an articled solicitor in Manchester with Alsop Wilkinson and while sent on placement in the Far East for six months got the opportunity to play for Hong Kong in the netball world championships in Sydney, Australia.

Along with the team Sally moved into the Games Village on Tuesday morning and describes the atmosphere there as "brilliant" adding: "It is really interesting as there is a definite split.

"There's the jamboree and 'friendly games' side to it with countries who are there for participation and not for medals and on the other hand you have a lot of top competitors who are walking round with very preoccupied looks on their faces!

"It's a mix which is nice but you have to remember what stage you are at in your sport and what your priority is.

"That's what we are working on a lot with the girls in our team. Our competition starts on the first day and finishes on the last whereas the swimmers are only in for three or four days and the athletes only compete for a short while."

Sally's parents, Bob and Betty who recently moved from Tottington to the Cotswolds, will be making the trip up to give England their backing while brothers Jimmy, a physiotherapist and cricketer at Greenmount CC, and Edward who lives in London and works in the music business, are also expected to cast a brotherly eye on events in the MEN Arena.