Ahead of the Oval Test against Australia, England skipper Joe Root has said that England's year could still be considered a success even if they fail to level the Ashes series.

England conceded the Ashes on home shores after 18 years via a 185-run loss to Australia in the fourth Test at Old Trafford on Sunday (September 8).

The home side goes into fifth and final match 2-1 down, meaning they cannot place the urn in their trophy cabinet alongside their maiden ODI World Cup, which they won two months back.

"It's bitterly disappointing to not have got the Ashes back, but we haven't lost anything yet. We've got to make sure that we square the series up and there's Test Championship points to play for as well which down the line could make a huge difference," Root told reporters on the eve of the Oval Test.

"To win the first 50-over World Cup is a huge achievement for English cricket, so, absolutely, it should be seen as a successful year, but we've got a chance to level this series and make it slightly better than it looks right now so that's the full focus of the group," he added.

It is under Root only that England lost the Ashes during 2017/18 Aussie summer after a humiliating 4-0 series loss down under. His tactics have been widely questioned and he hasn't been piling up runs either to attract genuine criticism.

However, the 28-year-old is unfazed and he knows the direction in which he wanted to take the team.

"In terms of personnel, things might change, as they have done for a while," Root said.

"But ultimately we need to focus on the core group of players that are going to lead this team forward both home and away and build from that and towards winning in Australia."

(With AFP inputs)