Rob Andrew has admitted England are unlikely to appoint a replacement for Andy Robinson in time for the Six Nations. England will soon begin their search for Robinson's successor after the head coach reluctantly stood down yesterday.

Andrew, the Rugby Football Union's director of elite rugby, has ruled himself out of taking a more hands-on role, on either a temporary or long-term basis.

He will make his recommendations to Club England on December 7th on the best way to proceed and does not believe the new man will be in place before England open their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on February 3rd.

"If you are a betting man you would think it is highly likely (no-one will be appointed)," Andrew said.

Andrew insisted finding the right man and not time would be the driving force behind the appointment and admitted some candidates might want to wait until after the World Cup.

"We have to take our time to get it right, that's the most important thing," he said. "We have to look at who might be available and who might have the skills to do the job.

"Inevitably there is a chance that the person will be already employed somewhere else and there is a an awful lot of work to be done before we get to that stage. People might be out there looking at it saying 'I don't fancy this much, I will wait until after the World Cup'.

"So there is a whole range of issues that need resolving."

Martin Johnson, Dean Richards, Richard Hill, Warren Gatland and Nick Mallett are the leading contenders for the job.