Paul Gascoigne to open Lutterworth football stand

  • Published
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne
Image caption,

Paul Gascoigne is one of England's most recognisable and celebrated footballers

England legend Paul Gascoigne is to open a new stand at a Leicestershire football club - despite concerns about his health during a TV appearance.

Some Soccer AM viewers thought the 51-year-old seemed drunk, but on Twitter he insisted he was just feeling the effects of sleeping tablets.

The former footballer will open the new stand at Lutterworth Town FC just before kick-off at 15:00 BST.

He has donated his £5,000 fee back to the football club.

Gascoigne's tweet included "some say I'm looking well" and "others are saying I was drunk".

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Paul Gascoigne

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Paul Gascoigne

Chairman Andy Dixon said the former Tottenham and England midfielder is currently living in Leicestershire with his manager and wanted to support grassroots football.

"He will be here signing autographs and posing for photographs, and we're expecting it to bring in a fair few hundred people," said Mr Dixon.

The new 50-seater stand arrived ready-assembled and took just one man and his crane an hour-and-a-half to place into position.

The match is an FA Cup game against Heanor Town FC.

Image caption,

The new 50-seater stand cost Lutterworth Town FC £15,000, with £9,000 coming from the Football Foundation

Gascoigne, one of England's most recognisable and celebrated footballers, has been open about his struggle with alcoholism in the past.

In January last year his agent said he had gone into rehabilitation to "get free of his demons".

His Soccer AM appearance on Saturday morning was cut short after 45 minutes, and when he failed to reappear the show informed viewers he was "not feeling wonderful".

He later tweeted, external to explain he had been taking sleeping tablets "to try kip".

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, external, on Twitter, external, or on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk, external.

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.