The incredible life of Kevin Keegan's "Mr Motivator" has seen Scottish folk singer Watt Nicoll train to be a vet and work as a professional speedway rider, a window cleaner and a dustman.

Nicoll, a 63-year-old entrepreneur and entertainer who gives a revealing account of his past lives in his book entitled Twisted Knickers and Stolen Scones, was unveiled yesterday as the man who spoke to the England squad at the team hotel before the Euro 2000 qualifier with Poland on Saturday.

He admits he is a former bankrupt, who was so down on his luck he slept rough, but his colourful life story puts even Eileen Drewery, the faith healer employed by Keegan's predecessor Glenn Hoddle, in the shade.

Nicoll spent an hour in the company of the England players and handed them a copy of his book at the end of the session after addressing them on motivation techniques.

What Alan Shearer and company made of the contents is open to debate as Nicoll gives a detailed history of the ups and downs of his personal history.

In the book, he says: "In my adult life I set out to be a vet, studied zoology, rode on the professional speedway circuit, apprenticed as a saw doctor and recorded 14 albums as a folk singer.

"I have also worked as a scriptwriter, playwright, window cleaner, stage hypnotist, dustman and TV presenter.

"I've spent long periods in hospital, married, divorced, travelled abroad, become well off, remarried, become a bankrupt and slept rough."

Nicoll once played in a band called the Dirty Pigs and did some scriptwriting for comedian Norman Wisdom.

He added in his book: "My first well-paid job was the Pet Man on Scottish Television's children programme Roundabout and my zoology studies went downhill from there.

"I became semi-famous as a folk singer in the same era that spawned the likes of Billy Connolly, Hamish Imlach and Barbara Dickson.

"But the strangest twist occurred when a play I wrote for a London theatre led to a study of behavioural psychology.

"I ended up touring for years, performing to capacity audiences, techniques that everyone insisted was stage hypnosis but I know is something else.

"The realisation that we can be anything we want to be has been an inspiring and exciting revelation for me."

Nicoll, who learned his motivation techniques in America, received a phone call from grateful England coach Keegan yesterday morning and there is the prospect of future work with the national squad.

"Kevin said the players were still talking about my meeting with them at half-time during the Poland game.

"There wasn't one negative comment from the squad," said Nicoll.