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" I think there is a responsibility for Paul Gascoigne all the way through, I think the one area that has come into the game in recent years is the agents. They want to have a large say, even Sir Alex Ferguson this morning was talking about his players living in the pockets of agents. These agents have got a responsibility for the individual person and the player that they represent as well. So not just the football clubs, although I think they do have that responsibility.
" I've heard the shout about the players and I think everyone has that, to deal with a player that may be in a difficult position. It's sometimes difficult for that person to actually come out and accept or admit that he has got a problem. Once that seems to have been achieved then people can put the individual on the road to recovery. Don't neglect the position of the agent though who wants to have a lot to say about how much he earns and where he goes and what he does. A lot of them need to look after the welfare of the individual as well.
" I've had a large number of different situations to deal with as a manager, some of which I wouldn't divulge because of the confidentiality of it. I think that if you've read Paul McGrath's book, he details consistently the problems that he has had with alcohol and the drink culture around at that time. I was at Aston Villa when we signed Paul from Manchester United, as fantastic a person and footballer that he was he was tainted by the fact that he occasionally, building into a number of times, he came under the demon alcohol and found life very difficult.
" Aston Villa certainly, and Jim Walker in particular, and this is detailed in Paul's book so it's not me telling tales. Jim Walker was assigned to Paul when he went across to Dublin to play for Ireland and look after him and make sure that he came back in good order. So in that one instance, and the biggest one that I have probably dealt with that went over a period of time, the football club, and the manager Graham Taylor in particular made sure that his player was as well looked after as possibly could be.
" It depends what stage of the career that the problems and the talent come together and become entangled. Whatever stage of your career, if a guy has got the problems that maybe Paul Gascoigne has, but certainly in the latter stages of his career, that is going to have an effect on the ability and the talent of the person. Some managers, a number of managers, will not want to take that baggage on. "
" I'm working at a smaller football club at Carlisle compared to say Newcastle or Liverpool where they have got massive squads of 30-40 players plus staff to control and look after. I can quite understand why people would be put off by what they think is excess baggage of a player causing more problems than the actual ability of the person.
" They tell you all the time that if someone has got an alcohol problem then if they can admit it and accept it, or it is put in front of them where there is no other way but they have got to take help then it could help him. It is interesting to find that Paul was on his own when not so many years ago he was surrounded by a number of people who were purporting to be his friends and look after him. Then when it has all gone wrong he has finally found that he is on his own and his friends are not there, I think that's really sad.
" I think it's a fantastic game tomorrow, we've chatted amongst the players this week and we've had disappointments over the postponed matches but we've now got this game going on. I just hope that the wind abates a little, we don't want a windy day like we have had yesterday and today which certainly wouldn't help the football. The two teams and the form they are in though, the quality of the players that we both possess, there is a fantastic game to come forward. I hope that a lot of people can come and watch it and enjoy it.
" Some people talk about Paul Thirlwell being injury prone, it's not, it's an ankle this time and it was a pure accident. We were having a good training session out on the grass, we've gone that side of it to make sure that we work properly. He's gone in for a shot at goal in the game and he's turned his standing foot and gone over on his ankle, and it's very painful for him. It really is just a matter of bad luck for him and obviously for ourselves because we can't include him now for a while.
" We had it X-rayed immediately yesterday, Neil Dalton took Paul off to the hospital and got the X-ray. There is no breakage, nothing in terms of bone damage so we are looking at ligament damage, which for me to put a date on it would be wrong, but it is going to be a fair amount of time before that settles down. He was certainly still in some pain and hobbling about today unfortunately."
" Paul is a good player who I have not yet had the benefit of seeing in full flow. He's had a couple of games and missed out, went back again, he was injured when I arrived here in October. So it's a real pity for him and for me and for the team in particular because I know of Paul's background. I've got a really good player there and an excellent captain that we can't get on the pitch at the moment.
" I'll finalise who will fill in tomorrow, we've talked about it as the staff. We've obviously increased the squad in January with Grant Smith coming in, we've got young Luke Joyce to consider in terms of midfield positions, Jeff Smith of course who can tuck in there, who did that at Doncaster away from home. So I've got a squad that can cope with it.
" We've gone from the ridiculous a little bit with Gascoigne, take that the right way, to the sublime really with Peter Murphy. One player with 300 games, that takes a lot of doing, even if the guy is fit for 50 games a season it's a long period of time to be at one football club. Along the way Peter has seen a lot of things happen to him, going into the Conference he stayed with the club.
" He's come back through to be challenging in this position now with the team and he's picked up international recognition as well with a club at Carlisle United. I think that's a fantastic effort and I'm sure that he will be the first to pass thanks on to his team-mates and previous coaches and managers. For himself though to keep in that condition and play that many games at one club is terrific. I can tell you that I am picking him tomorrow.
" We haven't got any loan moves planned, we are ready to go if we need to and ready to talk to people if that is necessary. At the moment though, with all the games coming it might be that something crops up quite quickly and I have to move but Stuart Gray the chief scout was up with me yesterday. We had a long working day yesterday about getting names and possibilities should we require to do that but at the moment the squad is pretty decent fitness wise. If it stays that way then we hope to get through with what we have got. "