London, Aug. 15 : Troubled former British soccer star Paul Gascoigne paid a heartfelt tribute to Sir Bobby Robson on Friday, saying that the latter had saved his life.

Re-emphasising the fact that he always saw Robson as his second father, Gazza said the former England manager played a significant part in his fight against addiction and mental illness.

"I know that Sir Bobby is up there now, looking down, thinking that I''m still daft as a brush. But you know what? He''s still got his arm around my shoulders and he always will have," The Sun quoted Gazza, 42, as saying.

He revealed that he was so grief-stricken after Sir Bobby''s death last month that he was dealing with his grief by listening to Van Morrison songs - and writing poetry non-stop.

His pieces include one written on hotel notepaper that pays tribute to the "great man" and father figure he first met when he was just 12.

Gazza also said he was no longer afraid of death after seeing his mentor''s courage as he finally succumbed to cancer after a 17-year battle against the disease.

Gazza said: "I couldn''t have dealt with all the problems without the help of a lot of people. My family obviously come first, but a close second was Sir Bobby. He was always there for me, whatever sort of trouble I was in." (ANI)