Sad Gascoigne says goodbye to Burnley

Paul Gascoigne may have played his last game in England as he appears to have walked out on Burnley.

Gascoigne was upset to be left on the bench by the First Division side's manager, Stan Ternent, as his new club beat Gillingham to stay in the play-off places. After the game Gascoigne was heard to say to some team-mates: "All the best with promotion, lads, I won't see you again." Burnley will wait to see if he turns up for training today as the Lancashire side prepare for their match at Grimsby on Saturday.

Because of Gascoigne's volatile nature he could have been serious or merely at a low point that could be lifted by Ternent, the man who gave him this latest lifeline. Gascoigne was on Merseyside last night, thinking over his future on his own while his adviser, Ian Elliott, said: "I have not heard anything about a problem of any sort."

Gascoigne has only been with Burnley for a couple of weeks, joining them after falling out with Everton. His new career started in a blaze of glory but it soon became obvious that the ageing midfielder was unable to finish 90 minutes. The former England World Cup hero was taken off at half-time against Wolves with his team losing 3-0 and then dropped by Ternent for the game with Portsmouth. Gascoigne has taken this badly and sources close to him say he is "down" about the way his career appears to be slipping away.

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