Toby Flood has taken over Jonny Wilkinson's mantle as England fly-half © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Toby Flood | Jonny Wilkinson

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: England

Jonny Wilkinson admits England manager Martin Johnson was right to drop him, conceding the team has been better off since former protege Toby Flood took his position at fly-half.

Wilkinson, England's World Cup-winning fly-half, says the fact he used to walk straight into the England starting XV after injury absences made him enjoy the game less because he did not feel as though he had earned his spot.

He was axed for only the third time in his career after last year's 15-15 bore draw with Scotland at Murrayfield and Flood has grasped his chance with both hands. Grand Slam-chasing England have hardly looked back since and as England prepare tackle the Scots again on Sunday with Flood at No.10 and his former Newcastle mentor on the bench, Wilkinson said Johnson was right to make the change when he did.

"You can want all the things in the world but there is no fun in it, no enjoyment if you don't deserve it or earn it," said Wilkinson. "I believe hugely in fighting for what you want to achieve but there are also times when that fighting becomes almost stupid unless you take some time to listen to the signs around you.

"At that time I was starting to go in a direction I didn't want to go and one I wasn't enjoying. The signs around me were telling me I needed a break from what I was doing. I needed to reassess, I needed to look at things from another angle. After periods of injury it has been a case for me of just getting back in there with England.

"I appreciate the opportunity and I would never turn it down - but I was always questioning 'have I earned this?' It was unfair for me to play the whole of that Six Nations without Floody, the way he was going, at least finishing it off and showing what he can do. He did that and now he is where he is."

Last year, with Wilkinson at fly-half, England were one-dimensional and predictable. In contrast, Flood is conducting a side packed with strike runners like Ben Foden and Chris Ashton and harbouring a new-found sense of attacking ambition.

Over the last 12 months England have risen to fourth in the world and won Tests in Australia and Cardiff for the first time since 2003. Johnson's men head into Sunday's Calcutta Cup showdown on the back of successive victories over Wales, Italy and France priced as 1-14 favourites.

"The best evidence you can have (that it was the right decision) is looking at it results-wise and flow-wise," Wilkinson said. "The relationship Floody has created and managed to put in place with the other guys - the way they work together and the way they link - wasn't quite there when I was playing."

Flood took over from Wilkinson for the final game of last year's Six Nations, against France in Paris, and he was the catalyst for a watershed performance on the field. Ashton and Foden made their full debuts and Tom Palmer cemented his future as an England international with his performance off the bench that night.

Since then, Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes, Dan Cole, Tom Wood, Shontayne Hape and Alex Corbisiero have all proved their Test credentials in an improving England team. Defence coach Mike Ford revealed on Wednesday the seeds of change had been sown off the field after the dismal autumn campaign of 2009, when England's management realised the mistakes they were making.

England were hit badly by injuries following the Lions tour but Johnson and his coaches were unwilling to allow the players any kind of decision-making control. Everything was pre-proscribed and that generated a fear culture, with players unwilling to take any sort of a risk in case it resulted in them being dropped.

Wilkinson fitted into that style of rugby-by-numbers at the time but England needed a change and Flood's selection at fly-half was the key piece of the jigsaw.

"After the autumn of 2009 the coaches decided the mindset and environment we created in the camp had to change. We had to have an attacking mindset," Ford said. "At the time we needed to score 20 points against a Six Nations team to win. Against the southern hemisphere teams we needed to score 25 or 27 and we were nowhere near that.

"We played New Zealand that autumn and lost 19-6. They only scored one try but we were never going to win that game in a month of Sundays because we weren't scoring enough points. We encouraged the players to go at the opposition and to not have the fear that if they drop the ball or have a bad pass they won't be picked the week after. It took players a bit of time to trust that we wouldn't hang players out to dry. It started to filter through in the France game.

"It has been a two-way thing. The players have probably come in in the past and just looked after themselves thinking 'England are not playing well so what do I need to do to keep in for next week? I am going to be selfish and make sure my performance is alright'. But in rugby you need a team not 15 individuals playing well.

"We have set up five more meetings with player input and empowered the players a lot more whereas before we (as management) were probably 'tell, tell, tell'."

England are now unbeaten after three Six Nations games for the first time since they won the Grand Slam in 2003, when Johnson was captain. Scotland, in contrast, are without a win this year and without a win at Twickenham since 1983.

"Scotland will be desperate. Having worked with Andy Robinson I understand him as a coach and they will be hurting. We need to be more desperate than them," Ford said. "The way we have trained so far is good. I have been to Murrayfield twice with England and not won there. The passion they have shown has edged us. But this is a different time now, a different situation."

Flood is fit to start after recovering from an Achilles problem while Lawes and Tom Croft are back in the selection mix after overcoming long-term injuries. Johnson will name his team on Friday.