ASK the former Rangers star Ian Durrant to talk about Paul Gascoigne and his response is immediate.

"Apart from being a fantastic footballer, he is a total crack-pot," laughed the man who was capped 20 times for his country.

The two men were great friends during Gazza's time as an Ibrox player and he has absolutely no hesitation in claiming: "If Gazza had not left when he did, I think we would have won an historic ten league titles in a row.

"We ended up throwing the tenth title away. If he had stayed we would have won that one, maybe more and I think he could have ended up finishing his career at Ibrox.

"He is still an absolute legend up here."

It was Walter Smith who brought Paul Gascoigne to Rangers in the summer of 1995 after three years with Serie A giants Lazio.

"The signing of Gazza not only raised the whole profile of Rangers, it raised the profile of Scottish Football," he said. "Brian Laudrup had signed before that but we got to sign Gazza at a time when there were lots of other teams chasing him.

"He had been having a hard time of it in Italy but when he came to Ibrox he had to cope with the very high expectation levels but he rose to the challenge.

"It turned out to be a magnificent move and he is still talked about in Glasgow because he is an absolutely fantastic football player. Laudrup was also different class and I have to say they are the two best players that I have ever played with, alongside the late, great Davie Cooper."

The game that most sticks in Durrant's mind was the one that helped clinch the famous ninth title in a row for the Gers.

"We needed to beat Aberdeen to win the championship and the score was 1-1," he explained. "By all accounts the manager was thinking of taking him off but then he suddenly produced five minutes of absolute magic that won the game.

"He scored a hat-trick, one of them after an unbelievable mazy run and we had wont he title. But he also played really well for us in Europe and I remember games against Bucharest and Ajax where he was also brilliant."

Durrant had first come across Gazza when they faced each other in a Under-21 international at Aberdeen.

"I battered him that night," he laughed. "I gave him a real runaround even though we actually lost 1-0!"

When it comes to giving people the runaround off the pitch Gazza is peerless and Durrant can remember dozens of incidents involving the midfielder that helped to give him the reputation of a being a "crack-pot".

"He was absolutely priceless in and around the dressing room. At Ibrox there was already myself and Ally McCoist who loved to wind people up but then we had Gazza come along," he said.

"One of the best ones was when he turned up at training one day wearing all his fishing gear, including a massive pair of waders, and brought along a couple of fish.

"He then his both the fish in Gordon Durie's care which was a Honda provided by sponsors. Gordon found one of them but could not understand why the smell kept getting worse over the next three weeks. It was absolutely horrendous.

"Finally Gazza took out the second fish from some almost undetectable place behind the spare wheel. But the damage was done and the rumour is that there is still a Honda smelling of fish somewhere in Glasgow today."

But Durie was far from being alone in being on the receiving end of a Gazza joke and Durrant warned his new Burnley team mates: "You can't turn your back for one minute.

"He certainly did me a few times including when he nailed my shoes to the floor. He would also steal your clothes and hide them.

"The way Gazza saw it, you did the serious stuff out on the park and then you had a laugh off it. He loved to organise the Christmas parties and it was always some sort of fancy dress occasion.

"He would love dressing up as royalty and always had a crown on his head. It was great for bringing the squad together and creating a team spirit.

"We would go out on nights out together but it was always carefully organised because being a footballer in Glasgow is like living in a goldfish bowl.

"We would hold events behind closed doors and go out for lunches together with people like Goughy (Richard Gough)."

One time when Gazza's sense of fun led to problems was the infamous piccolo playing incident during an Old Firm clash that fuelled the sectarian split between the two clubs.

Durrant explained: "That was one joke that back-fired and he realised it was wrong. Of course the press jumped on it and had a real go at him but it was just a mistake that he immediately apologised for in the right way."

Durrant still recalls the day that Gazza finally left Scotland to resume his career in England at Middlesbrough under a former England colleague.

"Gazza had a lot of admiration for Bryan Robson and that was a big pull for him," he said. "He was driving down to the Riverside with Jimmy ('five bellies' Gardner) and he actually told him to turn back.

"But as he did so there was another phone call from Bryan Robson and that persuaded him to keep going. So he moved to Boro and it was a sad day for Rangers.

"The club had been a big part of his life and to me his body language, even when he got to Boro, suggested that he had not wanted to leave and we had certainly not wanted him to go.

"He was at Ibrox for three years and the fans can all look back and say that he is one of the greatest players the club has ever had. The man would win games by himself on a regular basis, he was amazing."

Like Gascoigne, Durrant has suffered throughout his career because of injuries and he has no hesitation in stating: "If it had not been for his injuries Gazza would have been one of the greatest players the world has ever known.

"But he has always been a fit boy Gazza and he has looked after himself. You just have to get him right, keep him happy and occupied.

"He has had a couple of personal problems but he knows some of the boys at Burnley and I am sure he will do a good job. He has always been proving people wrong and bouncing back.

"I am sure there is plenty of good fishing around Burnley and he is always happy either plying matches, on the training ground or out fishing."

But the Burnley players would be advised to keep their car doors locked if he does take to the river!