England must change mindset to salvage Ashes: Johnson

England need to alter their approach if they hope to claw their way back after their disastrous start to the Ashes series and avoid another drubbing, former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson said.

England were beaten by eight wickets in both Perth and Brisbane, with Australia taking a 2-0 lead heading into the third test at the Adelaide Oval beginning on Wednesday.

The outlook appears grim for England, who last won the Ashes in 2015 and have suffered 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 defeats in their last three series Down Under. But Johnson said there was still hope for the beleaguered visitors.

"Conditions may well be different in Adelaide next week, where you don't generally see the same bounce and carry, which might suit England. We'll see spin come into it more...," Johnson wrote in a column in The Times.

"Australia are obviously in a very strong position but they won't be complacent... This series doesn't have the same feel as 2013-14, when Australia last won 5-0, but with (Pat) Cummins and (Nathan) Lyon coming back, their momentum is strong.

"But if England get it right, it's not like they can't come back. Perhaps too much psychological damage has already been done. I don't think it will be 5-0, but clearly the potential is there."

Johnson, who took 313 test wickets in his career and was the bane of England's batting line-up in their 2013-14 Ashes whitewash, said there were positives that captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum could take from their losses.

Batter Joe Root scored an unbeaten 138 in the second test to mark his first century in Australia in the longest format, while fast bowler Jofra Archer produced a fiery spell towards the end of the match, when victory was all but out of reach for England.

"It was by being adaptable that they (Root and Archer) were able to do what they did, and if they take away anything from the last test, they have to take that," the 44-year-old said.

"Whether they can genuinely adjust their plans now I'm not sure. Some of England's batting left you scratching your head. They have got the skills, no doubt.

"I don't know what conversations they will have behind closed doors, but they need to adjust tactics and mindset fast."