HUDDERSFIELD TOWN manager Lee Clark today encouraged his old mate Paul Gascoigne to "do what is right for him" rather than rushing back into football.
The 43-year-old Gascoigne appears to have turned down the chance to become manager of EvoStik League side Garforth Town, and Clark hopes his former England Under 21 and Newcastle United teammate is not tempted back to the game under the wrong circumstances.
"Paul is a very, very special person who, until he got that injury in the FA Cup final, was on the verge of becoming the best player in the world - bar none," said Clark.
"He still went to Italy and was very successful, but without the injury he would have gone there and blown that league apart, because I know how good a player he was.
"My wish for Paul now is that he has an untroubled and healthy rest of his life, because some of the things which have happend over the past few years make me sad when I know what an unbelievably talented and nice man he is.
"He's a very generous person and I won't hear a bad word said about him. Yes, he's had his problems and his issues and they've been played out in the public domain because of the person he is, but there's no doubt in my mind a fit and healthy Paul Gascoigne can make a massive contribution to football in terms of teaching people about the game because he is a genius.


"First and foremost, as a long-time friend, I want to see Paul getting back to his best health and pushing on and then, maybe sometime in the future, he can do what is the right thing for him - and not for people who want to abuse him as a commercial fad.
"Whether it's as a manager or a coach, I'm sure he can improve players because of his knowledge of the game because anyone who comes into contact with him for 10 minutes, an  hour, a day or their life, they quickly realise what a special guy he is.
"I'm just keeping my fingers crossed Paul can continue his resurgence and we can see that cheeky smile, whatever he chooses to do in the future."