England are unlikely to have a new head coach in time for the 2007 Six Nations, according to Rugby Football Union elite director of rugby Rob Andrew
Andrew, who ruled himself out of the running to succeed Andy Robinson, said it was probable that no-one would be in place before 3 February.
"If you are a betting man you would think it is highly likely," he told BBC Radio Five Live.
Andrew also said the RFU are looking for "more of a manager" than a coach.
Robinson stood down on Wednesday after a horrific run which has seen England lose eight of their last nine games.
A whole host of names have been linked with the new role, including World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, former South Africa coach Nick Mallett, Harlequins coach Dean Richards and former Wasps and Ireland coach Warren Gatland.
But Andrew says the RFU will not be rushed rush into making an appointment, despite next year's World Cup in France looming large.
"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."
England appointed a new coaching team under Robinson after this year's disappointing Six Nations campaign.
And Andrew envisages that the new man will manage the trio of attack coach Brian Ashton, defence coach Mike Ford and forwards coach John Wells rather than coaching.
"We have a good coaching team in place," said Andrew.
"The chances are that we are looking at the skills of more of a manager than a coach.
"You can still call him a head coach - when you look at people do and what they are called, they are slightly different things."
Robinson's much anticipated departure on Wednesday again highlighted the structural problems in English rugby.
In his departing statement, the former Bath man said: "The current structure and system for developing elite rugby players and performance in the international arena is not working".
And Andrew added: "He is absolutely right, Andy has had a very difficult system to work under since 2003.
"It is no doubt that the system we operate in has been leapfrogged by other countries, most notably NZ but also Ireland and Wales.
"Two countries at international level that are struggling with their systems are France and England.
"There are some serious issues that affect the game and everybody is aware of those.
"We have a very complicated system and structure with our Premiership clubs and we have to work to try and improve that system."
First Published on the BBC Website|