ENGLAND – Coach Andy Wood resigns

Andy Wood, who had been appointed as  Head Coach of the Great Britain programme a few weeks ago, announced that he would resign from his position, to take effect from January 4, 2011.

“I took on this role on the understanding that I would have the autonomy and the power to make critical decisions,” he said. I wasn’t getting the backing I wanted to do the job the way that I wanted to do it,” said Wood to the Daily Telegraph.

“Once it became apparent that I didn’t have the control to drive the programme forward I felt I had no choice.

“It’s a bit sad, having been involved with them for 35 years as a player and a coach, especially with it being so close to the Olympics, which are coming so quickly,” added the English coach, who had been rewarded by the “Male Coach of the Year” after the success of the mixed doubles in the 2006 World Championships in Madrid.

BADMINTON England Chief Executive Adrian Christy said  “Having headed the GB team at the last three Olympics Andy’s extensive experience will be sadly missed and I wish him every success with the next stages of his career.

“We now need to look to the future and secure the right candidate to drive the sport forward through to 2016; we will commence the recruitment process with immediate effect. A strategic review of the 2012 and 2016 programmes is already under way and the successful appointee will be key to driving the success of this programme.”