Hodgson mulling over roping in sports shrink to remove England's penalty 'kinks'

The manager of the England football team has reportedly brought in cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford to boost England's World Cup preparations and may bring a psychologist in to help with penalties.

Brailsford has masterminded the success in British cycling and Roy Hodgson has invited him to speak to the squad before their friendly with Peru.

According to the BBC, Hodgson said that he is considering bringing in a sports psychologist to work on spot-kicks in order to build up the confidence among England's penalty-takers so that they can be better equipped to handle the pressure of a shootout.

The report mentioned that England's penalty-shootout exit against Italy at the 2012 European Championships - in Hodgson's first tournament in charge of the Three Lions - was their sixth in seven attempts in major tournaments.

However, Hodgson said that the psychologist will need to be accepted by the team and will have to be a person who can help the players strengthen their character, confidence and their ability to block out any negative criticism.

Meanwhile, the report mentioned that the performance director for British Cycling has agreed to meet England's players before they fly out to their pre-tournament base in Miami and Hodgson said that he would draw on the experiences of the country's other top national team coaches to help deliver success on the football pitch.