Martin Johnson will command huge respect from his players as the new England team manager, but he needs to build a strong support group around him and find someone to get the back line firing. So says the man whose try in the 2003 World Cup final helped Johnson to lift the trophy.

Jason Robinson, who retired from competitive rugby after his second World Cup final last autumn, also believes that his former position of full back is a problem area for England and that Lesley Vainikolo must spend the summer working on his kicking game if he is to develop into an international wing.

“Johnno is a no-nonsense guy who people will look up to - and not just because he is 6ft 7in,” Robinson said. “You need respect to be a successful coach and he gets an abundance of it. People say that he doesn't have the management skills, but if he can get the help around him, he will be a success. He's not doing this for money or prestige, only to win.”

Mike Catt and Pat Howard have been associated with a coaching role under Johnson and Robinson said that it is imperative to find someone who can bring the best out of the backs. “Look at the Kiwis, Australia and South Africa - they all use the ball well in the backs,” Robinson said. “For some reason, that didn't work for us in this year's Six Nations. We had players doing well for their clubs and folding into their shell with England.”

However, he defended Brian Ashton, the former England head coach, who was Robinson's first coach in rugby union when he joined Bath in 1996 and persuaded the full back to step out of international retirement for last year's World Cup.

“I get on really well with Brian and like the way he wants people to play,” Robinson said. “He likes backs to express themselves and I will always have time for a coach who lets you do that. It was harsh that he had to go. People forget that we got to a World Cup final under him, but the Six Nations was a bit rocky and at that level you need to get results.”

The former Sale Sharks full back was at a coaching session for children yesterday as part of his work for Tesco's Sport for Schools & Clubs initiative. He ruled himself out of joining the England set-up. “I like coaching children,” he said. “Professional coaching would be a constant worry.”

Robinson said that England have a lot of talented young backs and that his former No 15 shirt was up for grabs. “Probably more than any other position, Johnson needs to find the right full back,” Robinson said. Under Ashton, eight men were tried in that position and Danny Cipriani would have played there against Scotland had he not been left out for disciplinary reasons.

“There are quite a few contenders and many of them have not been given a decent chance because of injury,” Robinson added. “Iain Balshaw is the man in possession, but will Johnson continue to leave Josh Lewsey out? Or what about Ben Foden [the 22-year-old Sale player], who is playing extremely well? He could be the next big thing.”

And what about the latest big thing? “Cipriani certainly can handle the pressure, but I don't know what he's like under the high ball,” Robinson said. “Anyway, he wants to play 10.”

What turned Robinson from a quick but one-dimensional wing into one of the finest full backs in world rugby was the amount of work he put into his kicking and he advised Vainikolo, who followed his route from league to union to England this year, to focus on that part of his game. “I thought Lesley did well in certain areas this season,” Robinson said. “There is no doubt he has strength and talent, but teams can find ways of working you out by kicking over your head.

“There's nothing worse than the look on your forwards' faces if you fluff a kick and they have to come jogging back 50 metres. Lesley has to work hard on his kicking. There's plenty of time to do that. I knew nothing about it when I came to union and I really put the hours and the effort in. I think I almost spent as long practising my kicking as Jonny Wilkinson.”