WAYNE Bennett is coy on his future as England head coach but suggests he has already achieved his aim by guiding the team to the World Cup final.

The veteran Brisbane Broncos boss, who is being assisted by Vikings head coach Denis Betts, is the first man for 22 years to take England to the World Cup final and is hoping to finish the job by guiding them to a first triumph since 1972 when they take on holders Australia in Saturday's decider at Suncorp Stadium.

Bennett's two-year contract with the Rugby Football League is up this weekend and he insists he will not think about what happens next until after the final but dropped a hint when asked why he took the job.

"Because I wanted to be in this World Cup, in Australia," he said.

"I wanted England to be hopefully more competitive, I wanted them to be where we are today I suppose.

"That's what I thought, that it would add a great deal of interest to it all if we could get England back to that place where they should be and hopefully they can stay there.

"I haven't thought about the future. I just want to get to Saturday night. We've a big game coming up on Saturday and that's my priority. I'll worry about it afterwards."

Win or lose, Bennett says he has enjoyed working with the England players, who have surprised him with their professionalism.

"They're an outstanding group of men," Bennett added. "I've said it before. They're not hard to coach, it's not hard to be part of their lives, it's been a lot of fun away from home.

"Their total behaviour on and off the field has surprised me in the sense that they're so disciplined. I've not had one player late.

"I've not had one occasion where I've had to talk to a player about his behaviour or about his lack of respect for someone or whatever. It's a credit to them all.

"They're all very close, very compatible with each other, they look after each other and pull each other into line, which is the way it should be. No one gets out of line because of the respect they have for each other.

"The Australia-based guys are still very English and they respect the boys from the Super League and it's vice versa.

"The Australia-based players aren't putting themselves up in a position, they don't ask for any favours. We're all one."

Bennett was accused of playing mind games when he said in the immediate aftermath of England's 20-18 semi-final win over Tonga that his side "probably" had no chance of beating Australia but he stands by his assertion that they are rank underdogs.

"They're the best team," he said. "We're playing the best team.

"We're not perfect, far from it, they're going to be the favourites. If we put up a good performance, everyone will be really happy because they've been unbeaten in two years, they're playing good footy and no one has got close to them except us in one game."