RFU chief Francis Baron says he wants Brian Ashton to remain a part of England’s coaching setup.

Ashton’s future has been shrouded in doubt since it emerged that Martin Johnson had been lined up to become team manager, with his appointment expected to be confirmed next week.

With a restructuring of the coaching team also predicted it has been unclear what that could mean for Ashton.

But Baron told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Brian’s a wise old bird. He’ll decide if he likes the new structure or not - but I hope he does.

“He’s a great individual and being a blunt Lancastrian, he will tell us if he doesn’t like it.

“My hope is that we are strengthening the structure. Clearly everybody in the new structure, new and old, has to feel they can work together.

“We can’t force people to work together if they don’t want to. Maybe I’m being idealistic but I hope the new structure will accommodate everybody and we can move forward with a structure in place that will deliver more consistent and better results for the England team.”

It is the first time the RFU has opened its mouth over Ashton’s situation and Baron added that the 61-year-old has been kept in the loop about developments.

“Brian has been kept informed of developments by (RFU director of elite rugby) Rob Andrew, but clearly Rob can’t tell him all the bits and pieces because Rob is having confidential conversations with other people,” he said.

“I understand why Brian may feel that he would like to have more detail than he has had, but I spent an hour with him last week and we had a very friendly and open chat, and he understands the process we’re going through.”

Johnson is thought to want total control over the team which would dilute the power currently held by Ashton, and a new specialist backs coach is also set to be appointed, again the area in which Ashton is an expert.

But Baron said the exact role of the England team manager had yet to be settled upon. “We have got a draft job description and that has been the subject of discussion between Rob and the candidates - we want them to have an input into it - and then a final one will go before the board next week as part of a package,” he said.