Paul Gascoigne Quotes

If I want to be a better person for whoever is in my life, I have to learn.

I`ve got a bit of money in the bank. I`m quite comfortable.

I fought back, got injured again and I had to have another operation. I got down and depressed and I think I was drinking more than I should. Well, I know I was.

But then I always wanted to play for Rangers. Man United is a great club and Alex Ferguson is a legend.

I still have my problems but I try and deal with them a bit better now. I don`t let them ride on for a month then realise I`ve got a stack of them.

I take responsibility for myself and what I do now.

I do want to be a manager one day. It might be 10 years, I don`t know when.

I feel sorry for the fans because they are laying out a lot of money now and if the players don`t perform, they are getting robbed of their money.

I`ve had to deal with everything but everyone has helped me, including Sir Alex Ferguson, to get through. George Best was a good friend of mine. We loved each other, we both knew where we were coming from.

Well, I did know - but I just wanted the day to pass and the next day to come and then I wanted that one to pass. It was a horrible cycle. I felt so close to having to pack the game in.

But if I wasn`t playing, I would drink Saturdays, then Sunday, then Monday. Then I would try and train and it was no good, then have another drink just to pass the day away.

I don`t really do pranks any more. I have a laugh in the dressing room here, where it`s safe, and the guys don`t go to the papers and tell them what I`ve done.

Hopefully everybody will just let me get on with my life. I`m going to.

I like to help create team spirit in the dressing room. I feel that I`ve got loads of love to give.

I was proud playing for England in the World Cup. Every game I played in, I did really, really well. I had the world at my feet, you know.

I never refused an autograph, never refused to buy someone a drink. Now I`m learning to say I`ve got other things on, instead of doing it and wondering why.

I`ll have a think about it all around next February but I`ve got a year left here and I can still finish off my career on a high note at Everton.

If the fans want me out, I`ll put my hands up and leave. Like a proper man. I won`t make excuses, I`ll leave.

Anyway, how can you sack anyone who still hasn`t got a contract. I`ll be there for the game and I`ll stand behind the dugout giving instructions to the players from there. They will respond to me more than the next manager.

I`m not going to get that pace back but I can beat people with my pace in the head. I just want to get back in the team and enjoy this season.

I won player of the year and players` player, two cups and two championship medals, had a great time.

At the end of it, I`ll maybe do a coaching badge but I`m not going to get forced into things.

I thought I did well for someone who has been out for 10 or 11 months. Then I was sub against Liverpool and tried to play for the guys and work on my fitness.

I`m going to do things when they are right for me.

I had to accept that I was an alcoholic, that was the main thing. I think you`ve got to. But I try not say that I`m an alcoholic. I prefer to say that it`s a disease I`ve got.

Then all the foreigners started coming over. I don`t mind that but a lot of teams are laying out fortunes for ordinary players and that`s no good for our youngsters coming through.

I don`t know whether I will drink again in my life but I didn`t drink yesterday, I am not drinking today and I`ll try not to drink again tomorrow.

The drink? Yes, I`ve had tough times in my life, especially the last year, regarding my ex-wife, my kids, I nearly broke my neck, I was on death row with pneumonia.

And that way, I don`t blame other people. I`m the one that has to keep off the drink. I`m taking responsibility for my life on everything.

When it comes to drinking, I don`t look to the future now. Because it only brings worry. I live day by day, a day at a time, as they say.

I never predict anything, and I never will.

I`ve learnt and I just want to be respected for what I`ve achieved on the pitch. I know I haven`t achieved much off it but I do know I`ve given pleasure to people watching me play football over the years.

I`m going to do things that make me happy. I have always felt that other people are running my life. I don`t want that any more.

I know as a manager you have to abide by the chairman`s decisions. But his decisions were this team, that team, this player, that player. The chairman is a control freak.

I`ll tell you the truth: I had a double brandy before the game but, before, it used to be four bottles of whisky. Not any more. I was fine. I had a glass of wine after the game. But it was just a mouthful.

You learn, right, a lot of people`s problems - why they get upset, why they get down, why they turn to drink - is because they can`t say one word and it`s N-O, no.

I am going to continue and bring this club forward. I am Paul Gascoigne the footballer.

The players are still behind me, Kettering is behind me, the staff is behind me, everyone is behind me. Unfortunately, the chairman is not.

When I was playing, I wasn`t drinking at the weekends. Not after the game, not on Sundays, when I would just relax, have a sauna, things like that.