Stuart Broad insisted England would not crumble mentally after a second miserable day against Australia at Headingley - and claimed a home hero could still emerge in the Test match.
England looks set to face humiliation in Leeds after a rejuvenated Australia demolished them on day two of the penultimate Ashes Test.
Despite leading 1-0 in the five-match campaign, England is mired in one of its most abject displays in history.
England captain Andrew Strauss claimed the Australia team has lost its aura on the eve of the Edgbaston draw, but they have shown a familiar ruthlessness in leaving the home team 5-82 in their second innings, still a massive 261 runs behind.
Aspiring all-rounder Broad, who took personal Test-best figures of 6-91 in the tourists' total of 445, may have to play the innings of his life if Australia is not to wrap up victory on Sunday.
"We've had two average days of Test cricket, but we've had four or five months of really good Test cricket before that," Broad said.
"We're still a very confident bunch of players and we're obviously disappointed how we've performed in this game, but confidence is not something you lose overnight."
"It's important that we remember there are Test match runs and Test match hundreds out there for some batsmen tomorrow."
"We've just got to look to play positively and enjoy it."
"We're 1-0 up at the moment but if it goes to 1-1 there is still one match to play and I think that will be an exciting opportunity for 22 players to enjoy the experience."
"One Test match to win the Ashes and that will be a fantastic experience to play in and it will be a great buzz."
"I can't imagine there will be anyone on that pitch who wouldn't be up for it."
Australia may not longer possess superstars like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden but the new breed exposed England's deficiencies without injured duo Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.
"I can't comment on Australian teams of the past because this is the first time I've played against them," said Broad.
"They're a very talented team."
"You have five or six players who average over 50 with the bat and they've got some talented quick bowlers."
"They've got something about them, but we're just focusing on what we've done badly this game."
"We're not learning from our mistakes, particularly."
"This time last year we did the same against South Africa and were bowled out by tea pushing at the ball and I think we did similar things in the first innings. We lost wickets in clumps."
"It's a lot easier to have presence when you bowl a team out for 100."
The prospect of England wriggling out of this match with a remarkable rearguard effort dissipated when Ben Hilfenhaus struck twice in two balls to spectacularly halt a 58-run opening stand and left-armer Mitchell Johnson wreaked havoc with a triple strike.
It has left England under threat of tumbling to its biggest ever defeat on home soil.
The current low is the innings-and-226-run thrashing inflicted by the West Indies team of 1973 at Lord's.
Momentum has transferred completely to Australia and with the series set to head to the Brit Oval locked at 1-1 it is going to take a massive effort for England to fight back.
Marcus North's second hundred of the series and 93 from vice-captain Michael Clarke helped Australia to build on their overnight position of 4-196.
Left-hander North now has three centuries in his six Test appearances, and got to three figures on Saturday with a pre-meditated six off spinner Graeme Swann.
"To score a hundred in a Test match like we are playing right now is pretty satisfying," North admitted.
"For both teams going into this Test match it was quite obvious it was the biggest Test match of the series to date."
"England took a lot out of the draw at Cardiff. For them to show the character they did helped them take the momentum into Lord's."
"I think we have done exactly the same thing coming from Edgbaston because England went into that final day believing they could win."
"But as Ricky Ponting has said, if we play our best cricket for a period of time we are going to be very competitive."
"With both bat and ball we have put a lot of pressure on England."
"The game is not in the bag just yet but if we play as well as we have done in the first couple of days then we will be at 1-1."
Left-armer Johnson's resurgence appears particularly ominous for the hosts, as he produced the kind of spell which charged him to 100 wickets in 23 Tests.
"The England supporters are starting to see what Mitchell is capable of," North said.
"He had a tough month but he showed some great signs at Edgbaston and is now bowling exactly as he did in South Africa earlier this year and it's great to see a guy get his rewards."
He would have had a fourth wicket as well but North dropped Matt Prior at third slip, from the final delivery of the day.
Had the ball stuck, Australia would have asked for the extra half-hour to attempt to complete a two-day victory.
"I saw it early and thought it was going straight into the hands," said North.