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Stars express sympathy for Gazza

Newcastle United will do what they can to help Paul Gascoigne after the former England midfielder was detained under the Mental Health Act, manager Kevin Keegan said on Friday.

"We as a club will do everything we can to help," Keegan told Sky Sports News television. "His family know that, we've talked to them and we can help a lot."

"It's sad but maybe what's happened now could be a turning point for him, instead of looking at it as something that's really bad this might be the best thing," he said.

"I have talked with his dad and one of his sisters and I know it looks negative but I think it is a massive positive for Paul Gascoigne, from all the information I've had," the former England manager said.

Keegan was a player at Newcastle United when Gascoigne first began his career in the 1980s. Now in his second stint at managing the club, Keegan said that he hoped Gascoigne was getting help for his problems.

The 40-year-old Gascoigne was detained under the Mental Health Act by Northumbria Police on Thursday after behaving strangely at a hotel.

Gascoigne -- nicknamed ``Gazza'' -- made 57 appearances for England and was widely regarded as the most gifted player of his generation. But his career was cut short by injuries and off-field troubles, including heavy drinking.

"I do hope that things start working out better for Gazza," Everton manager David Moyes said. Gascoigne played for two years under Moyes until 2002 -- his last Premier League club.

"He is a good man, a good person and was always willing to help others," Moyes said. "Everyone at this club will tell you that. When I have been around him he has proved to be a real gent. We all here hope he gets the help he needs."

Former England teammate Gareth Southgate, who now manages Middlesbrough, was confident Gascoigne would get well.

"He has shown a willingness to try to come through it in the past and he is obviously going to have to do that again," Southgate said. "He would do anything for anybody and, hopefully, people will do the same for him now because he obviously needs that help."

Another former teammate said Gascoigne had struggled to adjust to life after soccer.

"Gazza's had a few opportunities in football, he's had a few opportunities in the media, but it hasn't worked out because that didn't give him what he wanted," former England international Paul Parker told BBC radio.

"He still wanted to be a professional footballer, he still wanted to be there with the lads in the morning, he wanted to be training, he wanted to be playing every Saturday afternoon," he said.
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