Liverpool hire 'expert on common sense'

Peters will work one day a week at Liverpool's Melwood training ground

Liverpool have appointed Steve Peters, the sports psychologist credited with helping to transform the fortunes of British cycling, to work with manager Brendan Rodgers and his team.

Peters, whom Bradley Wiggins called "a world expert on common sense", will work one day a week at Liverpool's Melwood training ground in addition to his commitments with UK Athletics.

"As a manager, it can be a lonely business when you are trying to drive the club forward," said Rodgers as he prepared to return to Swansea, where, despite his achievements at the Liberty Stadium, he may not receive a warm reception.

He confirmed that Peters's work would not just be confined to Liverpool's players but extend to his own backroom staff. "It is nice to have a different set of eyes and experiences," Rodgers said. "I do a lot of technical, tactical and physical training and sometimes what gets bypassed is the mental thing for players, especially in the modern game at the top level."

Peters worked with mentally ill patients at Rampton Hospital before turning his attention to sport and has had limited involvement in football, although Craig Bellamy employed him in a personal capacity and credited him with an upswing in form that helped him take Liverpool to last season's League Cup final. Bellamy said that Peters's work stresses becoming not a better footballer but a more rational person, who can think more clearly under pressure.

Rodgers said: "I have always worked with neurologists, who are not just about sport but life, really. Sometimes, having someone independent to support you is good.

"We have brought in someone who is one of the leading guys in the world in what he does – and it is a real coup for us."