Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW Vol. 5 Num 812 Thu. September 07, 2006       Sports Scottish masseur England's secret Afp, Skopje England's revival under new manager Steve McClaren is being boosted by the unlikely acquisition of a Scottish masseur who has become the squad's official joke teller and mascot. McClaren has made a big impact since taking over from Sven-Goran Eriksson, including dropping David Beckham and appointing John Terry as captain in his place. He has also restored Steven Gerrard to the right of midfield, with instant rewards, and seen his team beat Greece 4-0 and Andorra 5-0 in his opening two matches. But as England prepare for their first major test under their new coach, a Euro 2008 qualifier in Macedonia, it is the impact of an unheard-of backroom staff member that is making the headlines. Chelsea masseur Billy McCulloch has been persuaded to leave his post with his native Scotland to join the England party and, it seems, has made a remarkable impact on morale! "We poached him," said Terry, speaking at a press conference here. "And I'm glad we did. "He's a genius with his hands. There's time when you are going to be tense or feel stressed about a game and he just completely relaxes you. "He comes to your room and massages you and basically sends you to sleep. If you need him at two or three in the morning he'll do that, he wants to win. "But more than that he's a funny man and never short of a joke. He has us in fits of laughter every day. "The other night we went to a comedy club and the comedians there were quite overwhelmed by what was going on. He got them off stage and did a 25-minute slot of doing his jokes and the lads were in stitches! "To be fair he only had a handful of jokes when he came to Chelsea but then he realised he's got a little job in this. He's been out and bought joke books - in fact he's got one in his room now! He goes through it and tells us a different joke every time. He tells us three or four every day. "The lads love him. The Liverpool and Man United boys want to buy him off Chelsea now they've seen him. You think I'm joking! But we've told them the transfer deadline has gone." McCulloch, of course, will have no impact on the pitch but his inclusion on the team bus emphasises the changes new manager McClaren has made since replacing predecessor Eriksson in August. He has called for Terry to help reproduce a club atmosphere in the England squad and is rapidly winning favour with players who enjoy his new approach. Terry said: "It's loads of little things that have changed. He comes to us all the time and says 'are we happy with this' or 'is there anything we'd like to change'. "It's down to small things, like the lads travelling in tracksuits feeling comfortable instead of in suits. Small things like that can make a big difference. "Also we are doing more things together. In days gone by with England I would eat dinner and go back to my room but that's certainly not the case now. Everyone is spending a lot more time with each other and we're really getting to know each other not only on the pitch but off it as well. It can only help us."