I don't really do pranks any more. I have a laugh in the dressing room here, where it's safe, and the guys don't go to the papers and tell them what I've done.

Ferguson duly went on holiday to Malta where he received the news that Gascoigne had signed for Spurs for a British record fee of £2million. The eruption of the SARS virus in China halted any thoughts of returning. 2004: He left football and after coming to terms with this he had a stay at the clinic in Cottonwood Arizona.

He made his debut in the Premier League in the 1998–99 season having already featured in the 1998 Football League Cup Final. After retiring from professional football his life became dominated by his mental and emotional problems particularly his alcoholism. He also won 13 caps for the England under-21s and four caps for the England B team.