Gascoigne under pressure to perform

LONDON, May 22 (AFP)

Glenn Hoddle is set to ask Paul Gascoigne to prove his form, fitness and stomach for the fight when England play their final warm-up match at Wembley before the World Cup against Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The England coach is hoping his tough-talking with Gascoigne, and clear public warning about his lifestyle, will inspire the maverick midfielder on to getting himself ready for France in mind and body. On Monday Hoddle said that Gascoigne was "40 percent"   away from match-fitness, and that he was "disappointed"  with his condition. But it is clear that Gascoigne has knuckled down on the training ground, giving Hoddle the response he wanted. And now Hoddle is poised to give the Middlesbrough man his first start since England qualified for the finals in the 0-0 draw against Itali in Rome in October. "Gazza trains as hard as anybody even if hes not fully fit, and hes looking sharper every day,"  said Hoddle. "Hes gradually getting there. The good thing is that hes now training totally injury free. He is not having any treatment or having to shield the ankle or the knee. "No players ever 100 percent but hes got no injury niggles holding him back and thats allowed him to get on with his training. Hes had a great week."  The clearest of hints that Gascoigne will start against the Saudis, with Hoddle talking of the virtue of playing as many of his "spine"  as possible. That means Alan Shearer will start as captain, probably Tony Adams too, and maybe David Seaman, although Ian Walker, whose last cap came against Italy 17 months ago, could be given the nod. With ankle victim Paul Ince missing, David Batty or Nicky Butt will be given the holding role in midfield, while Tottenham pair Darren Anderton and Les Ferdinand seem poised for returns after injury absences-two years in the case of Anderton. Hoddle explained: "Its a balancing act between getting part of my spine in there, looking to shape a few things up, and little challenges still going on for places. "Certain players need 90 minutes while others need a bit of a rest."  I want to get the spine and build round that, which is what you have to do in a tournament. "At this stage you dont want to show your hand too much. The starting 11 tomorrow wont exactly be an experiment, but probably not the team that starts against Tunisia."  Hoddles men will take a parade of appreciation to allow the expected 65,000-plus crowd to say farewell to his team. And while the coach says the result is not that important, he is aware of the positive effect on morale victory would bring. "Im not too sure about how theyll play, but for this game and the next two Im just focusing on us. Thats my main concern,"   he said. "Id love to win all three, because, with Portugal, that would give us a nice four-match unbeaten spell to go to France with."If it didnt happen I wouldnt lose any sleep but a good win would be the ideal way to go off to France. Thats what were hoping for and Im sure the fans would want it too."