GAZZA: I can beat the booze

Troubled former England football maestro Paul Gascoigne has said he can overcome the demons which saw him admitted to hospital in a drink-fuelled stupor.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur favourite, whose legacy on the pitch has been overshadowed by alcohol and drug attractions since retiring a decade ago, was treated in hospital in Dorset when he suffered a relapse last week after spending the previous seven months clean.

Gascoigne, 46, known as Gazza, told the Sunday Mirror he did not want sympathy or pity – and was determined to stop drinking.