I lived with Paul Gascoigne after the manager asked me to take him in – I only lasted five days
AN EX-ENGLAND striker has revealed what it was like to live with Paul Gascoigne – and how he could manage it for five days.
Mark Hateley enjoyed an incredible career after making the breakthrough at Coventry and went on to play for Portsmouth, AC Milan and Monaco.
However, it was after his switch to Rangers in 1990 that he achieved legendary status in these shores.
He was joined at Ibrox in 1995 by his compatriot Gazza – but they were not exactly close during their time together in Glasgow.
Gascoigne arrived just a few months before Hateley would leave to join QPR, although they would reunite in 1997 when the forward rejoined the Gers.
Hateley knew Gascoigne from the being together in the England squad, which led to former manager Walter Smith enlisting the former to help his countryman settle into life in Scotland.
They shared a house in Helensburgh, however a total clash of personalities followed, and that led Hateley having to put a stop to it before the week was out.
He told the Under the Cosh podcast, he recalled: “Walter told me. He said ‘I’ve been and got him, he’s coming, but we need to keep it quiet’.
“I kept it quiet and he came.
“Walter said to me he wanted Gascoigne to come and stay with me.
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“I sighed and puffed my cheeks out as it’s pre-season, all I do is run my nuts off, eat like mad and sleep. And that’s completely opposite to what Paul does.
“Walter told me his family were away so it would just be Paul, and maybe Jimmy (Bell, the kitman).
“So he turned up in his big blacked out Range Rover and I said to Jimmy, ‘Why are you driving him? You’re on a driving ban are you not?’
“He said ‘Yeah, but I’m still Paul’s driver!’ That’s what was coming into the house.”
Hateley continued: “Walter wanted him to stay with me to avoid any trouble with the police.
“I knew Paul but after about four or five days I told Walter ‘I can’t do this!’
“He’s a lovely guy, heart as big as a bucket, but it’s a manic experience with him.
“He’s in every room, opening every drawer, he needs to know where everything is.
“He is rightly classed as one of the greatest British players ever, but he was also one of the hardest to play with as a striker.
“The way he played was all off the cuff, it was all made up, so there were no tells as to what he was going to do.
“Nobody was on the same page as Paul, because Paul wasn’t even on the same page as himself.”
Hateley famously scored for England against Brazil in a 2-0 win in 1984 – our nation’s only away victory to date over the Samba Boys.
The Three Lions face Brazil at Wembley this Saturday, and Gascoigne is due to be in attendance.
He and several other members of the England Euro ‘96 squad are expected to honour the memory of ex-boss Terry Venables following his death in November.
El Tel also managed Gascoigne at Tottenham, where they won the FA Cup together.