Martin Johnson looks set to continue as England Rugby coach but he will have to agree to remove some of his back room staff after England exited the Rugby World Cup early.

Talks at Twickenham have been going on about Johnson’s staff who include John Wells (forwards), Graham Rowntree (scrum) and Australian Brian Smith (backs) as well as Mike Ford (defence) and Dave Alred (kicking).

Johnson’s back room staff has a strong Leicester “flavour” and Johnson will be forced to freshen up his backroom staff if he is to stay on.

There has been much speculation about whether Johnson wants to stay on or not after his contract expires in December but Leicester Tigers Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill has indicated that his friend wants to stay on and be more succesful with England.

“He’s not used to being unsuccessful, is he?” Cockerill told the Daily Mail.

“He’s disappointed because he wanted England to do well. He’s having a bit of time with his family and trying to get a bit of perspective.”

Cockerill added that he believes Johnson “still has plenty to offer England”, but also warned that he has to learn how to handle the difficult decisions on players.

“The thing you have to admire about Johnno is that he doesn’t need the job.”

“He took the job because he thought he could add something to it. He’s got a huge amount of rugby knowledge and it’s the things around which have let him down.

“I think he could still offer a lot to the environment, but, as I found out as the head of a team, you have sometimes got to make hard decisions some people are not going to like.”

“He has to accept he made some mistakes and make some hard decisions about the environment he’s got.

“But that’s what a club director of rugby has to do every day of the year.”