LONDON (AFP) - England captain Phil Vickery heads into the 2008 Six Nations Championship knowing that, unlike many of his rival skippers, he is not guaranteed his place in the team.

Although Vickery led an unfancied England side to the World Cup final in Paris in October, where they were beaten by South Africa, he was banned for two matches earlier in the event for tripping United States centre Paul Emerick.

His place for the pool matches against South Africa and Samoa was taken by Matt Stevens who then retained the tighthead prop position for the game against Tonga as well.

Stevens, who at 25 is six years younger than Vickery, has been in fine form for Bath this season and there were many shrewd judges who thought England coach Brian Ashton was taking loyalty a step too far when he announced the Wasps forward had retained the captaincy of the national side.

Vickery, who insisted "I'm not here to make up the numbers" at the media launch of the Six Nations here Wednesday, is keenly aware of the threat posed to his place by his South African-born rival.

"Matt Stevens is playing fantastically well and he is a great player. However, I always back myself and I'm not that bad a player," said the 60-cap front-row.

"I would be bitterly disappointed if any player was just happy to be in the squad. I want extreme pressure from Matt and I have no doubt that if I am not playing well enough Brian Ashton will bring somebody else in," Vickery added.

"We are under no illusions about how hard the Six Nations is going to be and I love doing what I do. That is why I am going to continue to make a nuisance of myself for a bit longer."

England have struggled to impose themselves on Europe's leading international rugby union tournament since a Six Nations Grand Slam five years ago paved the way for their 2003 World Cup triumph.

The past four years have seen them finish third, fourth, fourth and third - a poor return for a nation that considers itself to be one of the major forces in the world game.

"We are fully aware our record has not been good," said Vickery, a World Cup winner in 2003. "We've been beaten by some good teams, but also produced some poor performances. We are under no illusions about how tough it is going to be this season."

England's Six Nations opener against Wales at Twickenham on February 2 has been given added spice by the fact that Shaun Edwards, deputy to Wasps supremo Ian McGeechan, will be a member of the visitors' coaching staff.

The former Great Britain rugby league international has joined forces again, in a part-time post, with Wales's new Kiwi coach Warren Gatland, who led Wasps to European Cup glory during his time with the London club.

"He has spoken very openly and honestly with us at Wasps about the opportunity, and asked if we had any issues," Vickery said of how Edwards had tackled the subject of his new post with his club players.

"To a man none of us did. I have no issues with anyone who wants to better themselves in the thing they do.

"Shaun is looking forward to the challenges of international rugby. I wish him well - just not next weekend.

"The dangerous thing for us as an England team is that we haven't seen Wales play under Warren Gatland, so we don't really know what to expect."

Ashton, who is due to name his squad for the Wales match on Tuesday, said he would be keeping "everything crossed" in a bid to guard against injuries to key players during this weekend's full round of English Premiership fixtures.