As the sun blazed down, all the discussions were about Alan Shearer's fitness and who will replace the skipper alongside Michael Owen if he is ruled out.

Such was the attention on the Newcastle man and the striking permutations his absence would involve that it took a while for anybody to notice that England's most important player for the next few weeks was absent from the training ground.

Then again, Paul Scholes likes it that way. To say he has always been uncomfortable when forced to endure the glare of publicity is an understatement of epic proportions.

As he slipped into the interview hot-seat at England's training base here in the Ardennes, Scholes looked for all the world as if he wanted to exit as quickly as possible.

But while the questions will continue to rage over Shearer's readiness for combat on the fields of Euro 2000, it is the flame-haired Manchester United midfielder who must flourish more than any other if England are to make a significant impact on the tournament.

It is not in Scholes' nature to boast, to force people to take notice of him. He is a man of action, not words.

When Tony Adams and Paul Ince are attempting to psych up the team in the dressing room in Eindhoven on Monday night, Scholes will be sitting quietly in his own corner, blotting everything else from his mind.

But Keegan and England know it is Scholes who must play a crucial part in their plans, even if the player himself would prefer the spotlight to fall on others.

Asked about his prospects of making his mark in Euro 2000, natural modesty soon surfaced. 'I want to be the key man,' he said. 'But there are a lot of key players in the team.

'I like to get forward, score goals and create chances, because that's my strength. But if it's best for the team that I don't get forward, which happened against Brazil, then I'll do that.'

An Old Trafford education has brought that sense of responsibility to Scholes' game. It was only four years ago that the frequency of his goals after coming off the bench led to a happy Alex Ferguson describing him as 'a pest'.

It was only a matter of time before Scholes graduated to the England ranks, with a goal on his full debut against Italy in the Tournoi de France in 1997.

Glenn Hoddle said that Scholes had the ability to become 'the jewel in the crown' of English football. Keegan, who called him 'an absolute gem' last week, can only concur.

The England coach said: 'I'm always looking for Paul Scholes to deliver. The great asset about him is not just that he can play in midfield, win the ball and work hard, but that he's got a tremendous ability to get on the end of things.

'I know he can do a number of jobs for me. He does that with United. If Roy Keane is injured, he can do that role, and when David Beckham has a little bit of a disagreement with Alex, he can play on the right as well, as he did at Leeds.

'Paul is adaptable and therefore he gives you a fluidity. He can make things happen in different areas.

'There's not many players like that, and it makes him important in that respect. Of course, the icing on the cake is that he scores goals, and goals win matches.

'He's scored five for me and that proves just how valuable a member of the team he is.'

It also demonstrated why, when Scholes awoke yesterday to find himself with a niggling back concern, he was ordered to remain in the swimming pool and jacuzzi at the squad hotel while the rest of the party were training.

Nine goals in 24 England appearances is a ratio bettered in Keegan's squad only by Shearer - indeed, making him marginally more prolific than the coach himself, who scored 21 in 63 games.

It was Scholes who marked Keegan's first game as England coach with a hat-trick against Poland, while he and Shearer have shared 11 of the 20 goals scored in Keegan's 13-match reign.

Maybe it was only to be expected then that, with neither Scholes nor Shearer involved yesterday, the sum total of goals in a 20-minute nine-against-nine match played on half a pitch was a Beckham penalty.

Keegan laughed that off - but Scholes' ability to hit the target is crucial. The player knows the secret is in the timing.

Scholes said: 'The pressure is on the strikers to score, not me. If I get one, I'm a hero and if I don't I won't get slagged off. If I score, it's a bonus.

'Getting goals does give you the confidence to make the runs. I know I'm not going to be in every time, and for every 10 runs I make I might only get one chance.

'But I can also make space for somebody else.' Two games against Barcelona in the Champions League two seasons ago mean Scholes has respect for Portugal's Luis Figo. 'Everything about him is good, everything,' he said. 'Right now he's the best in the world. He can beat people and create chances but you can't make particular plans. You've got to concentrate on the way you play.'

Scholes is not the sort to dwell on mistakes, but there is one miss that he cannot forget - the left-footer he slid past the post from 12 yards against Argentina in St Etienne in the World Cup.

'I think about it now and again,' he admitted. 'I should've scored and if I had that would've been 3-1 and we'd have gone through. But you can't change things now.'

England returned from that latest penalty defeat - 'I'd take the first one next time,' declared Scholes - to an oddly-upbeat reception. This time he wants to deserve it.

Scholes added: 'When we came home to that welcome after the World Cup it was embarrassing. We'd only got to the last 16. It's no good playing well and going out in the first round. We need to play well and be successful.'