Paul Gascoigne says Newcastle United must stop selling their best players if they're ever to return to the glory days.

Gascoigne insists they will never progress while they sell their best players.

Gazza told the People: "Newcastle have let Andy Carroll, Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan go and, going right to when I was at Newcastle, I left because they had already sold Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle.

"You don't want to leave the club you grew up supporting but they weren't keeping hold of their best players then and it seems they are doing it again.

"But of all the Premier League teams none have surprised people as much as Newcastle this season.

"They have started wonderfully well and long may it continue. Credit to Alan Pardew and it's good to see Peter Beardsley on the coaching staff because he knows the club so well and cares about it as much as anybody.

"But the problem has always been how you keep hold of all the great talent from the North-East, if someone is paying the sort of wages Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool are?"