England head coach Brian Ashton faces the most critical week of his tenure ahead of England’s clash with Ireland on Saturday.

The fotrmer Bath coach has been pilloried following England’s dismal showing at Murrayfield, during which he was forced to haul off an underperforming Jonny Wilkinson, the first time the fly-half has been replaced while England were chasing a game.

The clamour to replace the World Cup winner with Wasps youngster Danny Cipriani has resurfaced with fresh momentum despite the 20-year-old’s midweek indiscretion that robbed him of a first start against Scotland.

It is one of many crucial decisions facing the England coach as he seeks to halt a run of three consecutive Irish victories at Twickenham.

Ashton said: “I’ve told them (the players) we’re all going to get a lot of criticism. We’ve got to front up and go back and work hard.

“I think there will be a massive determination to put it back on the road against Ireland next week.

“It doesn’t shake belief in myself. If it did, I wouldn’t be here; I would have said ‘thank you very much, goodnight’.

“It is certainly very frustrating. After the French game (which England won 24-13) and the performance there, I thought we made some strides forward in certain areas of the game.”

But Ashton has already hinted that, despite suffering the tenth defeat of his 21-match reign, he will not be making wholesale changes to face Eddie O’Sullivan’s side.

“We certainly won’t be looking at it as an experimental side,” he said.