Johnno's In-tray

1 Clarify precisely what he is meant to be doing

Presumably Martin Johnson has a better idea of his precise job description than the rest of us. He was announced in April as England's manager. Much play was made that he is not to coach - he does not have the experience or the qualifications - and the Rugby Football Union already have a lot of suits to look after matters away from the training field.

Who are his counterparts elsewhere? The All Blacks have a guy called Darren Shand; the Springboks Andy Marinos, a decent player in his time, but hardly a Martin Johnson; and after a quick internet search the identity of Australia's manager is still not clear.

The point is, the role of manager for most rugby teams these days tends to be one of an administrative nature, by which we mean one not appropriate for a man of Johnson's stature and, presumably, salary. It seems that the overriding objective of the RFU has been to get him in somewhere and worry later about what he will actually do. His recruitment smacks of them being seen to make a bold statement. It would be no surprise if Johnson's job description as it stands is simply to go around commanding respect.

Many people have misgivings about his appointment, even before we consider the shadowy dealings behind Brian Ashton's back earlier in the year, and Johnson had them himself not so long ago. Here is what he said just after last autumn's World Cup in response to the latest outcry for him to come to the rescue: 'If I ever got involved as manager of England then I'd want to do it with a bit of experience behind me. I'd never be arrogant enough to assume that I could go in and be a national coach or manager without any experience.'

At the time he received widespread and richly deserved praise for his dignity and wisdom. And how it made the people yearn even more for him to deliver them.

2 Assemble a coaching panel

He inherits a bit of a mess. England return from New Zealand with their reputation on and off the field at a new - or rather another - low.

Johnson needs to be sure of his relationship with Rob Andrew, the director of elite rugby. It is not clear who is the boss, if indeed there is any desire on the part of either man or the RFU to clarify that dynamic. Andrew was the RFU's previous messianic appointment, but he filled the role earmarked for Johnson for barely a couple of weeks on tour and he returns with his reputation horribly damaged, if not quite in tatters. That in itself should serve as a warning to the incoming man.

Of the coaching panel already in place and subordinate to him, John Wells and Graham Rowntree are familiar faces from Johnson's playing days. Both should be safe. Mike Ford, as defence coach, though, may be feeling nervous. The All Blacks carved up England all too easily and Ford's defence of his own defence was basically that no one had done that to them during the Six Nations.

All this talk of defence served only to highlight that the one situation vacant, even when Ashton was around, is backs coach, and, boy, does that role need to be filled. Brian Smith of London Irish has been offered it and is keen to take it up. Smith is an enlightened coach who has helped Shane Geraghty and Topsy Ojo, among others, to blossom. But of the young attack-minded coaches at large Jim Mallinder stands out as the most brilliant. He is staying loyal to Northampton for the time being, having just guided the Saints back to the Premiership.

3 Pick a squad of players - then another, and another

On Tuesday, Johnson must announce his first 'elite player squad' of 32, or three of them, to be precise - the senior squad, the Saxons (or second team) and the under-20s. Under the new agreement between the RFU and Premier Rugby, each club will be recompensed according to the number of players they provide to these squads and, in return, they must give up the players for coherent blocks of international fixtures.

These squads are set for the year, but five changes are allowed to be made during the season and 10 during World Cup seasons. How this will work does not bear thinking about. There were 32 players in England's World Cup squad last season, including Nick Abendanon and Toby Flood, who were flown out as replacements. Of those, 12 went to New Zealand: that is 20 changes from one end of the season to the other, which does not even allow for all the comings and goings between times. The Saxons and the under-20s can provide for many of those changes, but this month both those squads needed full complements for competitions of their own. Five changes, or even 10, will not nearly cover it, so clubs are going to have to be approached for more players, while presumably retaining the right to refuse. There are sure to be further arguments.

As for the make-up of the senior squad, the situation remains a little mixed, as it has since Johnson's heyday. England were badly shown up against a rebuilding New Zealand. People dismiss the significance of it, citing fatigue and a half-strength squad. Fatigue, yes, but this was more than a half-strength squad. The only absent players who would definitely have added something to the Tests were Simon Shaw and Nick Easter in the forwards. In the backs there were more, but only Danny Cipriani and Paul Sackey would definitely have made the starting team.

4 Have a word with Danny Cipriani

An awful lot of hope is pinned on Cipriani, and one of Johnson's first tasks should be to put an arm round him and tell him he knows how he feels. With so many other candidates for the No 10 shirt falling by the wayside or wanting to play in another position, Johnson must be concerned about how much importance is being attached to this brilliant but unproven 20-year-old with an horrific ankle injury still to get over.

5 Find a position for Mathew Tait - and James Simpson-Daniel and Ben Foden and...

Johnson must decide what position Tait, another brilliant youngster a bit further into his international induction, should play. Indeed, there are a number of flashing geniuses around whose best positions are a subject of ongoing debate - Simpson-Daniel, Foden, Flood, Geraghty...

In England there are richly talented backs everywhere, but not knowing what to do with them does not help when it comes to taking on the All Blacks. These guys are great to watch at home, but nowhere is there the kind of three-quarter that New Zealand continue to churn out: quick, skillful, big and, above all, having the air of knowing precisely what to do on an international field.

6 Find some reinforcements for the front five

It is practically heresy to suggest it, but all may not be well among England's tight five. There are plenty of back-row forwards around, as always, but it is at the sharp end where things are starting to look thin for the first time. Matt Stevens has been one of England's most important players for a while, even from the bench, as he has made the propping resources look healthy. But he is now England's first-choice tighthead. He looked exhausted in New Zealand. He was finally substituted late in the second Test by one Jason Hobson, who is a promising 25-year-old with the gumption to have laid out Phil Vickery a while back, but he made only nine Premiership starts for Bristol in this, his breakthrough season.

The next in line are Dave Wilson of Newcastle, 23 with six starts, and Jack Forster of Gloucester, 21 with four. Behind Andrew Sheridan at loose head there is the worthy Tim Payne and not a lot else. For the next few years, Sheridan and Stevens are as crucial to England as any dashing 20-year-old with an Italianate name.

Behind them in the engine room only Shaw, soon to be 35, comes with the necessary chutzpah to bring out the best in a technician like Steve Borthwick, while we wait for people such as George Skivington and Richard Blaze to mature. The future for England is bright, but then we are always saying that. It is the next few years Johnson needs to worry about.

7 After the controversy in NZ, draw up new teamship rules

Ask any touring side, two in a room will do and you always pair up a junior tourist with a senior one. The latter will keep the former busy with demeaning chores and punish him if he misbehaves. It is elementary tour protocol. In this system, the punishment for merely talking to a girl with a name like Angel would be towards the top end.

8 Think about what he will do when it is all over

If anyone else were taking on this job with the same levels of experience and qualification, they would be laughed out of Twickenham. The reason this has not happened here is because everyone accepts that if there is a man with the intelligence and charisma to be in possession of a magic wand to wave, it may well be Johnson.

But, even if that is the case, the shelf life of an international coach/manager/guru is, at the very most, eight years. So, at best, he would be out on his ear at about 45, with around half his life to go and all those experiences and qualifications still to pick up. He will obviously have no trouble finding a job at somewhere such as Leicester (who have just been looking for a coach/manager/guru) or maybe Southampton Football Club, but the feeling persists that, in rushing Johnson to power, England are playing their trump card too early, and Johnson his.