England boss turns to Stevie G after Six Nations debacle

ENGLAND have turned to Steven

Gerrard and a forensic psychologist who has worked with psychopaths to help make them a Six Nations force to be reckoned with again.

Last season’s fifth-place finish was an embarrassment to the most lavishly-resourced country in the championship.

As well as a squad overhaul which saw six uncapped players named last week, England coach Eddie Jones has also spent time with Aston Villa boss Gerrard (right), 41, to study his methods.

Jones said: “He was very impressive for a young coach, very mature beyond his age. You can see in the way he conducts himself as manager of Aston Villa that he is going to be a very good coach in the future.

“I’ve been catching up with a few coaches trying to pick their brains. I’ve just finished with Jesse Marsch, who’s at RB Leipzig, and we went up to the Red Bull F1 headquarters at Milton Keynes before autumn. I was impressed by their level of attention to detail.”

But it is the link-up by Jones (left) with Nashater Deu Solheim, who formerly carried out risk assessments on murderers in high-security prisons, which will raise the most eyebrows.

“She is a forensic psychologist and she is working with our coaches in helping us improve our communication skills,” said Jones, 61, who will meet up with his squad for a five-day training camp in Brighton tomorrow ahead of their opening game against Scotland on February 5.

“It is very hard to get advantages in the game now so you are looking at data to show the areas to prioritise in your game and working on the mindset of the players.”