Gascoigne urged to rekindle honeymoon spirit

AS IF Paul Gascoigne did not have enough marital problems, he was yesterday advised by Glenn Hoddle to fall in love again. Not only that, the England coach suggested he should embark on an affair with an old flame - the game of football.

Despite having only just returned for Rangers since suffering the foot injury in an Amsterdam six a side tournament which put him out of England's match against Italy in February, Gascoigne is in Hoddle's squad of 27 for the friendly match with South Africa at Old Trafford a week today and the World Cup qualifier in Poland seven days later. The squad will then be reduced to 22 for the trip to France.

Unless Gascoigne's match fitness shows rapid improvement over the next fortnight, he remains an unlikely starter for the Polish game. But beyond that lies the four nation preWorld Cup tournament in France, when England will play Italy, Brazil and next summer's hosts. Hoddle has intimated that Gascoigne's ailing international career would stand a better chance of revival were he able to participate. Before England met Georgia at Wembley 10 days ago, Hoddle publicly warned Gascoigne that "there are certain things, perhaps, which he needs to change in his life".

Separated from his wife after allegations of assault and more recently involved in an alleged face slapping incident when a woman approached the car in which he was a passenger, Gascoigne has been presumed to be drinking in the Last Chance Saloon so far as England were concerned.

But these days the licensing hours are more relaxed and in any case, Hoddle has always regarded Gascoigne as the sheep that strayed, rather than the fatted calf.

"I've spoken to the boy and I'll be speaking to him again next week," the England coach said yesterday. "He's got another game for Rangers at the weekend and then a couple of testimonials. We've got plenty of time to assess his fitness.

"The main thing I said to Paul, and I think he understood it, was that he had to get back to loving the game of football again.

"When he was in his heyday, and really at his best, he was in love with football. You can understand the reasons why that's gone away and it has to come back again.

"If he starts to love the game again," Hoddle continued "I think you'll find that his form and his presence on the pitch will come back.

"But this is something that is going to take months, not one or two weeks. There will be times when he's going to trip up and fall back down the ladder and he's got to learn from that."

Hoddle's latest selectorial ladder is not overcrowded with gifted claimants to Gascoigne's mantle, although the inclusion of Paul Scholes, the 22 year old Manchester United player who can double as marksman and midfielder, is further evidence of how highly the England coach rates the emerging youngsters at Old Trafford.

Alex Ferguson, the United manager, has not been alone among his Premier League colleagues in voicing anxiety about players having to play in the French tournament after a hard domestic season. Hoddle, however, regards the games as essential preparation for 1998.

"We're 12 months away from the World Cup and we're hoping and expecting to be there," he said. "The players I've spoken to want to play in this tournament for the experience they're going to gain.

The England coach said Ferguson "has never picked the phone up and said to me definitely that he does not want X, Y or Z player going on a trip".

Gary Neville, the Manchester and England defender, has already said he has never been prevented by Ferguson from joining any international squad.