'There are one or

two young

players I saw in

training today

who looked as if

they might be

giving me a kick

up the backside'

THE words every Rangers' fan wanted to hear came in the Ibrox Blue

Room shortly after one o'clock yesterday when record signing Paul

Gascoigne assured the world: ''I'm not here just to recapture the form I

have shown before -- I'm here to do more.''

The extravagant hair-do, the designer luggage, the expensive tastes of

the soccer super star who joined Rangers yesterday in a #4.3m transfer

were pushed into the background by that statement as 2500 cheering fans

stood outside.

Gascoigne was being unveiled in Glasgow as a born-again professional,

looking lean and hungry, and insisting that he wanted to train at both

sessions yesterday with his new team mates.

His press conference was delayed because the one-time playboy had told

manager Walter Smith that he did not want to miss one of the work-outs

with the other players.

It was a different Gascoigne, relaxed, comfortable with the questions

hurled at him by the biggest media presence the Glasgow giants have

probably had to welcome, and able to joke about his own frailties too.

''Normally I would be coming back from Florida with five or six

chins,'' he grinned mischievously. ''But this time I have been working

out while I have been over there.

''And I didn't touch lager at all while I was on holiday. I had a

glass or two of wine and limited myself to one Pina Colada a week,

though I had two on Saturday.

''I feel fitter right now than I have felt for a long, long time. I

have had an extra spell of what you might call pre-season work -- seven

months or so, maybe -- and I feel great. I am almost ready for action.

All I need are a few games and the club has arranged six or seven before

we go into the European Cup ties.

''By the time I get through them, then I guess I will be match fit

because all I have to do is get these friendlies under my belt to get my

touch back.''

Amazingly, after all his football travels, Gascoigne seemed genuinely

affected by his Glasgow welcome yesterday. As the songs from the couple

of thousand fans drifted through the open windows of the Blue Room, he

said: ''I am probably affected as much by this welcome as I was by the

one when I joined Lazio.

''Back then, the welcome at the airport was exciting and a little

frightening, too. This time, right now, I feel as moved as I did then. I

think the people of Glasgow care about the game, and so do I.

''This is a massive club I have joined and I know that -- I knew it

even before today.

''Rangers have shown their faith in me by matching the transfer fee

which Lazio asked for, and now it is up to me to repay that faith. I

intend to do just that.''

Gascoigne, who has undergone 14 operations in the last three years,

does not let that fact concern him. Nor does it worry Rangers who have

had the player undergo the usual thorough medical examination.

All that does seem to prey on the player's mind is getting back into

action. He will do that on July 21 in Denmark when Rangers play the

first of their tour games against Brondby.

By then, Gascoigne will be a part of the Rangers' squad. ''I felt good

today among the other lads,'' he explained. ''I knew one or two of them,

of course, but the rest were all up shaking my hand and even the

apprentices were coming round to wish me all the best. That was nice. In

fact, it was touching.

''And there are one or two of these young players I saw in training

today who looked as if they might be giving me a little kick up the

backside. But I just want to be a part of this club, get to know the

lads, and try to help the youngsters as much as I can -- if I can -- and

take it from there.

''One thing I know from today's training is that I'm among good

players who can pass the ball, and want to pass the ball, international

players, and I just know I'm going to enjoy my time here.

''And that's what I want to do, get back to playing the game and

enjoying it.''

But, of course, Gascoigne would not be Gascoigne and Rangers would not

be Rangers, if winning was not also on the agenda. Predictably, it was,

as the English international player maintained: ''I want to help the

club do well in Europe but I also know that the aim here is to win the

title 10 years in a row and I can be a part of that too.

''I know that the game in Scotland will be tough. That doesn't worry

me. I like it when players get stuck in and that's what will happen in a

lot of the matches and I can handle that. I can give as good as I get in

these games.

''The pressure will not get to me at all. I have known pressure since

I was 18 years old and so this is not going to be any different from

what I have faced at other clubs.

''The expectations will be high from the fans, but I have to meet

these expectations. I am sure that I can do that.''

If he does, to his own and to Rangers' satisfaction, then Gascoigne

said that he would be happy to finish his career in Glasgow.

''Honestly,'' he said, ''if things are as good as they are looking

right now, then I would want to extend my stay here. I have signed for

three years but if I can please Walter Smith in that time, then I think

I would be happy to stay on for a further spell. I'm just 28, remember,

and in football terms, after missing out on so many matches, I look on

myself as a footballing 25-year-old.

''I could see myself signing another contract.''