FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template
England coach Glenn Hoddle warned wayward midfield genius Paul Gascoigne that his place in the World Cup finals squad was not guaranteed-unless he met the England supremo halfway. Hoddle will be meeting with the Middlesbrough playmaker, who received unfair criticism earlier in the week when it was revealed he smoked, ahead of the run-in to the finals in France to discuss Gascoigne’s ankle injury, which has plagued him throughout the season first with Rangers and then after his move to the First Division outfit. “I want to give Paul an opportunity to learn and open his mind a little bit and see what he can achieve,” Hoddle said. “I think he is falling back a little bit now to be honest. I’ve had words with him and I’ll have more words with him. But at the end of the day Paul is Paul and I know in our first session he’ll be giving it the full Monty.
Hoddle added: “At the moment there are 30 players in the squad and I’ve got to whittle them down. “The last four performances Paul has put in have been tremendous for me. But I will add, since then, he’s been injured at Rangers and Middlesbrough. He’s not 100 percent fit so I can’t say at this time he’s 100 percent in the squad.” Certain things worry me but there are certain things I see that show he’s still got the genius in him.”I’ve always said we’re not out of the woods here with Paul. I’ve said that to him. He’s got to come 50-50 with me and I’m sure if he can we’ll have a good World Cup.”
Hoddle, who doesn’t drink or smoke, had staunchly defended Gascoigne when it was revealed he had taken smoking back up again-the England boss has made it a habit of defending him even after allegations he beat his former wife Cheryl.
“Paul’s been smoking since he was in Rome with Lazio, six or seven years,” Hoddle said. “If I tried to stop him for three weeks now it might have an adverse effect.”All the things we are doing are aimed at trying to improve their fitness and give us the best possible chance this summer. “But Ossie Ardiles was on 40 a day when he won the World Cup with Argentina, and there’s a fellow called Vialli at Chelsea too. “It didn’t bother Ossie and it doesn’t bother me. The boys won’t do it publicly, but if it’s in a private situation, and that’s what they’re doing, that’s fine.”