DON'T say I didn't warn you. Just over a month ago in this very column I said I would be very surprised if Paul Gascoigne lasted the season in charge of Kettering.

So the latest sorry chapter in Gazza's life doesn't surprise me one little bit.

I take no pleasure in saying 'told you so' because we're still talking about one of the greatest footballers this country has ever produced.

But Paul was well on the way towards self-destructing when he joined Burnley, and anyone who has crossed paths with him from that point forward has been pretty much let down.

Looking at the pale gaunt figure he has become, I can't believe we are the same age and my lasting memory of him at Burnley was that fateful day against Coventry, when his two late free kicks almost fired us into the play-offs.

That was him taking centre stage though. Before he ran out to the roar of the Turf Moor crowd, I sat with him in the wings, or on the bench to be more precise, feeling negative vibes coming from beside me.

It was patently clear Gazza did not want to be there that day, or most others for that matter. Maybe he felt Burnley was beneath him?

We'll never know, but one thing I do know is that Gazza was pretty much a wreck from the first day he turned up and he never repaid Stan Ternent for the faith he showed in giving him the latest last chance to prove himself.

On Monday evening I heard the Kettering chairman speak on TV after news of his latest fiasco broke and I thought he sounded an intelligent man who, like Stan, was badly let down.

Gazza's befuddled reply was to admit having a double brandy before a game, but surely a recovering alcoholic doesn't go near the booze?

In the wake of George Best's funeral last weekend, you have to fear for another of the game's greats. This time, I really hope I am wrong.