England will have "no chance" of recovering in the Ashes series if they play with a "glass jaw", says head coach Brendon McCullum.

The tourists are 2-0 down with three to play after defeat in the second Test in Brisbane. England have never come back from that deficit to win an Ashes series.

Following the loss at the Gabba, captain Ben Stokes said his dressing room is "no place for weak men". Asked if he agreed with Stokes, McCullum replied: "100%. It's no different to the language I've been using. You don't get to feel sorry for yourself in these jobs.

"This is not a country where you can expect to be anything other than fully committed to what you're doing." England are on the verge of surrendering the series at the earliest possible opportunity after losing the first two Tests in fewer than six days of cricket.

In the first Test in Perth, the tourists were bowled out for 172 and 164, including collapses of seven wickets for 78 runs and 9-99. In the second innings in Perth, England lost 6-80.

"Ultimately, you can't afford to flinch when you come down here," said McCullum. "This is not a country to start doubting yourself or to walk away from the challenge. You come to this country and have a glass jaw, you have no chance. You have to be strong, tough, and you have to get on with it."

The loss in Brisbane extended England's winless run in Australia to 17 matches, including 15 defeats, dating back to 2011. Stokes' team must be victorious in all three of the remaining Tests, beginning in Adelaide on 17 December (23:30 GMT, 16 December), if they are to win the urn for the first time since 2015.

England will spend part of the gap between Tests on a break in the resort town of Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast. They will then train for three days in the run-up to the match in Adelaide.

Decisions around preparation and tour games have come under scrutiny on the tour. England played only one match, against England Lions, before the series began, then opted to send none of the players from the first Test to a Lions game against the Prime Minister's XI in the run-up to the second Test.

The visitors instead trained for five days in Brisbane, which McCullum said was "too much". The New Zealander now feels it is right for his team to "freshen up". "A few days away wouldn't be the worst thing," he said. "I'm a horse-racing man and in the horse-racing game you wouldn't keep doing the same thing with your horse if it's struggling a bit."

Separately, it is understood the England and Wales Cricket Board will approach Cricket Australia over an arrangement covering the 2027 Ashes in the UK and the 2029-30 series in Australia.

The approach would involve an agreement between the two boards to lay on the highest possible standard of warm-up facility and opposition to help ensure an entertaining, competitive Test series.

McCullum admitted he was open to the possibility of making changes to the England team for Adelaide when he said: "Over a five-Test series you'll need a majority of your squad."

Two players that would come under scrutiny are batter Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith, but both received backing from the coach. On Smith, McCullum said: "He's a flair player and he likes to approach the game in a simple way. He works very hard on his game but he also has the courage and conviction when he feels he's given himself the best chance. It doesn't guarantee everything but I'm sure he'll appreciate the conditions in Adelaide with the boundary sizes and the pitch."

Asked about Pope, McCullum added: "Popey has been number three. He's done well. He's averaged 40-odd for us. He's our number three here in Australia. I've stressed that we have the squad that we've got. There's no sense looking elsewhere. We're confident in everyone and that hasn't changed. We've just got to find ways to go to get ourselves back into this contest."