Roy Hodgson hopes Dr Steve Peters can help England overcome their World Cup penalty shoot-out curse

• Psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters will work with England at the World Cup
• Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson believes Dr Peters can help the Three Lions cope with the pressure in Brazil
• Dr Peters has worked with Liverpool and the British cycling team

By Rob Draper for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 17:57 EDT, 10 May 2014 | Updated: 03:15 EDT, 11 May 2014

Roy Hodgson will use celebrated psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters for his own mental preparation at the World Cup finals — and is hoping his players are open-minded enough to follow suit.

Peters has worked with Liverpool this season and has been enthusiastically endorsed by the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton after his work with the British Olympic cycling squad. He will join the England squad in Portugal next week and remain with them throughout the World Cup.

‘I’d like to think the players will be open to it,’ said Hodgson. ‘We’re not obliging players to see him. He’s there. I’m sure the Liverpool players will tell the others how they interact with him and what he does for them.

Useful: Steven Gerrard (left) and other members of the Liverpool squad have worked with Dr Steve Peters this season

Wise words: Psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters will travel with the England squad to the World Cup

Option: England players including Daniel Sturridge (centre) will get the chance to speak to Dr Peters in Brazil

‘I’m sure, as a result, a few of the other players will come up and say: “That’s interesting, I’d like him to have a chat with me, too”.

Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling are two Liverpool players who will also be in Hodgson’s squad and have spoken about Peters’ role.

And despite a week in which his most high-profile clients — Liverpool and Ronnie O’Sullivan — suffered significant setbacks, Peters is highly respected in the sport world.

Although Hodgson insists that his role will not just be about converting penalties, Peters is likely to address that issue with players.

‘I’m not thrusting Steve Peters on the players,’ said Hodgson. ‘If we win or lose on penalties, it won’t be because Steve has joined us.

‘But there may be a penalty taker who has spent a bit of time with him, who takes a better penalty. But it’s not his responsibility at all.’

Peters’ work is explained in a book called the Chimp Paradox, in which he encourages people to understand how anxiety works in their mind, and explains that, for many people, their first response is an emotional one — similar to that which a chimpanzee might make. Hodgson added: ‘He will have a lot more work to do with me because at my age, unfortunately, my inner chimp has become very mischievous,’ said Hodgson.

Faith: England boss Roy Hodgson believes Dr Peters will benefit his squad in South America

Been there, done that: Wayne Rooney is no stranger to World Cup heartbreak with England

‘The difficulty is always when you read psychologist’s books, it’s not difficult to accept what they’re  saying and to see the sense and benefits in it.

‘The problem is when you’re in real life: can you find the right behaviour pattern that’s required at the time? That’s the difficult thing.

‘As Steve is always very quick to point out, our first reaction is always emotional and then the human side kicks in. He may help us control that emotional side better than we can.

‘I’ve always thought people like Steve Peters — who are close to teams  — can do as much of a job with the coaching team as they can with the players, because we have  a big influence on the players.

‘If they can help us get the right mind-set to say the right thing at the right time — take the pressure off whenever we can, put the pressure on when it’s necessary — that in itself would be beneficial. I have an open mind to it all. I’m looking forward to hearing what he’s got to say.’

Experienced: Dr Peters has worked with with sportspeople including Victoria Pendleton and the Team GB cycling team

Impact: Dr Peters has helped Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool mount a title challenge this season

Sven Goran Eriksson has said his biggest regret with England was not taking a sports psychiatrist with him to the 2006 World Cup finals to help the team cope — especially with penalties.

Hodgson says that it would have been remiss of him not to take advantage of Peters’ expertise.

‘I was fortunate enough to be put in contact with him and found out he was a massive England fan and would be more than happy to help out in any way he could,’ said Hodgson.

‘I read his book, which I found fascinating. I know he’s done excellent work with Dave Brailsford, at  British Cycling, who is a friend of mine and told me a lot about him, and at Liverpool, with Brendan Rodgers and Steven Gerrard in particular.

Mistake: Former Three Lions boss Sven-Goran Eriksson regrets not taking a sports psychiatrist to the 2006 World Cup

Relationship: Raheem Sterling (left) has worked with Dr Peters at Liverpool this season

‘When he was prepared to make himself available, I’d have been very foolish not to take advantage of that. But there’s no pressure on him whatsoever.

‘He already works at Liverpool with some of the players, so I’m sure they’ll talk to him when he’s around, just as they do at Liverpool. I’ve got a very curious group of players, an open-minded group of players.

‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised if quite a few others wanted to come and speak to him and find out what he’s got to say — how they can better prepare mentally for matches.’