Under-fire coaches Phil Larder and Joe Lydon last night fiercely defended their positions in the wake of Sunday's French farce and said they were the right men to lead England back on top of the world.

England's record-equalling 31-6 defeat in Paris was their worst in the championship for 20 years and prompted Rugby Football Union chief executive Francis Baron to issue a warning that everyone involved is "expected to meet their targets".

Tryless defeats to Scotland and France in the last two rounds of the Six Nations Championship is much below what is acceptable for the world champions.

Lydon, the attack coach, has come under increasing criticism for England's lack of creativity and their inability to either create or finish tryscoring opportunities.

The temperature is also rising on Larder, England's defence coach, after France were gifted three calamitous tries.

But Larder said: "I am confident I am the right guy for the job and that I am doing a good job.

"The first thing you do as a coach is analyse your input and this has not shaken my belief in what I'm doing at all.

"Anybody who hangs a shirt on a peg or puts on a coaching hat accepts the fact there will be pressure. I feel under pressure every week and even more so when we have lost.

"You know that if you lose a certain number of games your position might be a little bit insecure.

"This is a pressure job, it's the name of the game. I don't react to criticism from outside the camp, I react to a pretty awful performance. It was the worst performance I have been associated with.

"The way the team performed and the way individuals performed is a concern for me."

Lydon refuses to allow the impending post-tournament review distract him from the job at hand. The attack coach said: "Reviews always happen, after every game and every series, so that is not a problem for me.

"I am certainly aware of the criticism - we didn't win and we didn't score so it is not unjust.

"We have to take the pressure and criticism on the chin and, as a coach, I say I am responsible.

"The players put the shirts on but we do the preparation. You do question things, are you doing things the right way? And the answer is yes. I am constantly reviewing what we are doing and how we are doing it. I didn't expect two back-to-back defeats but it is a test I am enjoying.

"That sounds a bit masochistic and it is hard work. But it is something I want to do, I want to be involved at international level.

"The performance at the weekend was not acceptable but the pressure now is looking forward to the game against Ireland and not back on France."

England captain Martin Corry blamed the players and their woeful execution of rugby's basic skills for defeats at Murrayfield and in Paris.

Corry said: "The criticism of the coaches isn't fair. The mistakes we made were purely at the hands of the players. Those players will put our hands up to that."

But Larder, amazingly, said he was not surprised by the deterioration of England's basic skills.

The England camp wanted to keep the Test players away from club duty during the off-weeks of the Six Nations but failed to agree with the clubs.

Larder said: "In the two matches we have lost the major factor has been a breakdown in fundamental skills.

"One of my jobs is to improve the basic fundamental skills of all the players. To be honest, this Six Nations I haven't had the time.

"I have had a total of 40 minutes pitch time each week in which to build up communication, build up the intensity and work on how to nullify the opposition's key players. There is a lot to do in a very short amount of time.

"One of the things which has had to be put on the sideline is working on the fundamentals, so it is no surprise to me that we are seeing the basic skills breaking down.

"I have always thought we will struggle if we don't get more time with the players."