Silverwood would be supported by Graham Thorpe as the batting coach and Paul Collingwood, who is expected to be added to the support staff. © Getty

Chris Silverwood, England's new head coach, has singled out winning back the Ashes from Australia as his number one priority. Addressing the media for the first time since being elevated from his post as bowling coach, he said his attention will be on beefing up the support around Joe Root, England's Test captain, in the coming year.

"Job number one is helping Joe -- we've got a lot of support around Joe, but to keep moving forward so that in two years' time we can go to Australia and make a real impact," Silverwood said on Thursday (October 10).

"I think (there's a good) relationship between myself and the two captains (Root and Eoin Morgan), and I've got a strong relationship with all the players and backroom staff."

Silverwood, who was chosen for the role, among a slew of high-profile candidates for the job, will have to find a way to fix England's batting woes in order to find success as a Test side. He believes the way to do that would be to find the right players for the right positions.

"The step up, obviously there's going to be a lot more responsibility, obviously I've got to deal with you guys [the media] a lot more, which is fine, that is something I will feel my way into, but from a relationship point of view, not a lot will change," he said. "I will have to step back a little bit, but equally, I want them [players] to know I am available and accessible to them as well.

"I've already got some very good coaches around me, which is key for me as well, and some good people out there to give advice, but equally we'll be looking to put the right people in the right places in that batting line-up and push the Test team forward."

Silverwood would be supported by Graham Thorpe as the batting coach and Paul Collingwood, who is expected to be added to the support staff. Ashley Giles, managing director of England's men's cricket, backed Silverwood in his new role and continued to support the move of having one coach for all formats.

"I think one man should lead," Giles said. "The important thing around that one man is having the diversity in thought in the individuals who support him. So he'll have a good group of coaches working under him. We are crossing the t's and dotting the i's on, hopefully, Paul Collingwood joining us full-time and Graham Thorpe is obviously there, has been there for some time.

"Those two guys will offer Chris a huge amount of support and knowledge and knowledge of different experiences. The bowling coach position is obviously now vacant. I would like Chris to have a massive say in who that person is.

"He's a winner. He could only prove that where he's been able to prove it and that's in the domestic game but the job he did at Essex was fantastic and we're still seeing the legacy of that now. The sign of a good coach or a good manager is leaving a team in a better state than you found it and that team is still moving on without him at the helm.

"No disrespect to Anthony McGrath or anyone else at the club right now but that's his work still in action. His relationships and his knowledge of what we're doing is really important but I think next to me here we have an exceptional bloke who cares deeply about what we're doing and is a very good coach.

"You can only be tested within the environments you've worked and he couldn't have worked in a more pressurised environment, whether he was head coach or assistant coach, this summer, as a World Cup and an Ashes summer, and he's proven he can deal with that."

Silverwood's first international assignment as the head coach will be against New Zealand, when England will travel for a five-match T20I series and two Tests, starting November 1.