Eurosport rugby expert Neil Back insists the RFU must not rush their decision over the England coach and thinks Rob Andrew is doing the right thing taking his time.

I think the RFU and Rob Andrew are right to take their time before making a decision on the England coaching set up.

There has been a great deal of speculation as to who should be in charge, whether Brian Ashton should be retained or whether Martin Johnson should be brought in as a manager.

My name has also been put forward for a defensive role under Johnno. But more of that later.

I am not going to say who should or should not be in charge of England. I am not close enough to the England set up at the moment to make that call.

However, if Johnno is offered a role, and one that he wants, then I have every confidence that he has what it takes to lead England.

I sent him a text ahead of his recent meeting with Rob and told him not to doubt himself and his abilities - not that Johnno would!

I also said that if he does take the job then he must appoint his own lieutenants to work under him.

I never played under Brian as a head coach so I cannot comment on what it is like. But I do think he is an excellent coach and I sympathise with him because it must be a horrid situation for him at the moment.

Decisions like these are never easy but Rob and the RFU must get this one right. It's crucial for England that they have the right people in place so they can build for the next World Cup.

As I said last week, if they decide that Brian is the right man then they must back him and give him a vote of confidence by giving him a contract through to 2011.

I obviously know Johnno very well, personally and also from playing together with Leicester and England for many years.

Despite the gap in his coaching and management experience, I think he has the leadership qualities to deliver what England want. He understands the game very, very well and is hugely respected around the world.

He is the only man from the northern hemisphere to have lifted the World Cup and that achievement cannot be overestimated.

Johnno is not someone who talks a lot, but when he does he is very articulate and to the point. He does not say things for the sake of it and does not mess around with words.

When he was captain of England he would usually issue a few expletives to the players as they ran out for a game.

I would always follow Johnno on to the pitch because I liked to get out early, and I remember before the World Cup final he turned around, took a look in our eyes and at the expressions on our faces and decided he didn't have to say anything.

He judged it perfectly.120 minutes later we were standing on the podium holding the World Cup.

But Johnno would not be right as a bit-piece' manager and that is why he needs to be in charge, with his own coaching team.

My name has been put forward in some newspapers as taking a defensive role in a coaching team under Johnno, but I can categorically say that I have not been approached by the RFU. Nor have I discussed it with Johnno.

I am very happy at Leicester but obviously if England got in touch then I would consider what they had to say. Who wouldn't? Like all coaches I have an ambition to one day test myself at international level.

Whether Johnno and Brian can ever work together I cannot say. Brian has already said that he does not want a manager who gets involved with coaching so perhaps it's unlikely.

The pressure is on Rob to get this decision right so I think we should support him and allow him the time to do so.

Leicester had a great win over Wasps last week and we have now won our last two games and weathered the mini-crisis we had with injuries and international call ups.

But I was none too happy with the fact Wasps scored four tries. It's the most we have conceded in a game since I've been the Tigers' defensive coach, but the positive thing is that they were all due to individual errors and not our defensive system.

We face Wasps again this weekend in the league, but my old England team-mate Lawrence Dallaglio will not be playing as he is serving a one-match ban for striking a player.

Lol faces a citing panel next week and I hope that's the end of it. He retires at the end of the season and it would be a shame if he gets a further ban.

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