Captain Andrew Strauss says England are determined to salvage pride when they face Pakistan in the third and final Test, which starts on Friday.
Strauss's men, 2-0 down, are looking to avoid a series whitewash and hold on to their number one Test ranking.
He said: "For 24 hours or so, after the second Test defeat, there was a bit of doom and gloom, as you might expect.
"But we've resolved to move forward. It's just a very strong opportunity to salvage something from the series."
If England lose the final Test in Dubai, a 3-0 series win for South Africa in New Zealand next month would see the Proteas knock England off top spot in the International Cricket Council standings.
"No-one in our camp is waving white flags or anything like that," Strauss said. "We are all determined to come out and put on a better show.
"It's an opportunity to gain some momentum going into the one-day series and Sri Lanka Tests. It's important."
Strauss also warned against players taking their places for granted.
"For the environment to work properly, we've all got to feel the pressure for our place," he added. "No-one has a God-given right to represent England.
"I think you've always got to look at things rationally and think about how extended a period you can give someone in the side.
"But you can't under-perform forever. There is pressure on all of us to perform.
"You've got to look at people's states of mind and how they're doing technically and all that sort of stuff. You throw all that into the mix and then decide what the best XI is."
England played two seamers and two spinners in the 72-run defeat in Abu Dhabi, with the recalled Monty Panesar returning figures of 6-62 in the second innings.
"The two and two felt good. It felt like we had a lot of attacking options," said Strauss, who nonetheless admitted that playing Steven Finn or Graham Onions as a third pace bowler remains "an option".
"We've got to try to get our crystal ball out and decide how the wicket's going to play.
"It would be very tough to leave Monty Panesar out. He bowled outstandingly. It was great to see the badge back on his shirt."
Pace bowler James Anderson also challenged England to rediscover the form that took them to the top of the world.
He said: "We don't want to be one-hit wonders - get there, have six months of lapping up everyone saying how good you are, and then disappearing.
"We want to stay there as long as we possibly can. That's why we need to win this game."
Pakistan have never recorded a clean sweep against England, but Misbah-ul-Haq's men are favourites to win and make history in Dubai.
"It will be a big achievement for the team,'' Pakistan captain Misbah said. "No doubt England are a good team - the number one team - and it will not be easy because they will be more prepared, but we will try.''
Pakistan (from): Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younus Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman.
England (from): Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Steven Davies, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara.
Umpires: Simon Taufel (Aus) and Steve Davis (Aus)
TV umpire: Shahvir Tarapore (Ind)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (Ind)
