OVER the next couple of weeks the presence of Bill Beswick, the England psychologist, will be in the spotlight, as Steve McClaren looks to motivate the national team towards European Championship qualification.

And in Roy Keane, the outspoken Sunderland manager who was first introduced to Beswick at Manchester United, McClaren's shrink has an ally.

Keane is by no means convinced Beswick's ilk should become a permanent fixture in football, but accepts the reasons why many sport psychologists have become such an integral part of the game.

Beswick will be part of the fittings when the England squad prepare for the visit of Estonia on Saturday and the trip to Moscow to face Russia next Wednesday.

And, if results do not go England's way, McClaren and his guru will face a huge amount of criticism that is likely to amount to both men leaving their posts.

But Keane said: "I know Bill well. I knew Bill at United and he was very good. I would speak to Bill but I couldn't really get in there - Gary Neville was in there all the time.

"It was all very relaxed. Some people would see him once a year; others would see him every day. Some lads had no interest.

"If you want to see someone all well and good but get the balance right and don't be dependent on these people. Some players are."

Having worked with Beswick at United, their meetings coincided with Keane mellowing as a player who ended with 11 red cards before leaving Old Trafford.

The Sunderland boss - who spoke to Beswick when he first took charge - does not necessarily suggest his calmer exterior is as a direct result of Beswick, although he is more than well aware of his uses.

But Keane stresses that McClaren - the man responsible for taking Beswick to United to assist Sir Alex Ferguson's squad - should not always pin his faith in the man he trusts so strongly.

"I know Bill and Steve have been criticised for what Steve's said in his press interviews afterwards, and that words he's using come from Bill," said Keane.

"You've still got to be your own person. From my own experience, though not necessarily with Bill, I speak to dieticians, everybody, I was very opened-minded, maybe too open-minded.

"The bottom line is that you are a footballer and you've got to where you are because you're a half-decent player. You don't necessarily need 20 staff telling you, you are good or not. That should come from the manager."

Last season Keane drafted in former Olympic high jumper Steve Smith for a week to motivate his squad and he could make a similar move again this season.

And given how the Irishman has the experienced working under Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson, it would seem surprising Keane has not ruled out the possibility of making his own Beswick-style appointment.

"We're looking at things like that," he said. "That might happen again over the next few weeks when we bring someone in as a one-off but nobody is going to be day-to-day, although I wouldn't dismiss it long term.

"I'm sure Brian Clough would not have had one in a million years. He got someone in to do the weights once and he lasted an hour.