AS HE wakes up this morning, the biggest game so far of his England reign ahead and a growing controversy ringing around his ears, Glenn Hoddle can at least feel vindicated that Paul Gascoigne is on a Florida beach rather than sharing his La Baule hotel. The David Beckham Affair is quite enough to handle, thank you, for a man preparing for the match which will tell us whether he coaches a serious contender for the World Cup.

Hoddle, increasingly wearing the tired and fractious look of late period Graham Taylor, was clearly angry and upset yesterday when questioned about a newspaper article in which Beckham's Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson criticised the treatment his midfielder has received. It was not quite the �amazing attack' that one Sunday tabloid claimed, but it did contain enough red meat to prove a serious distraction to the pack of press wolves surrounding the side's training camp.

The coach refused to comment on allegations that he had misled the Old Trafford man, saying: I will give you my answer after the game'' and describing the Sunday Times interview as ''a small thing I'm not going to get involved with now. I've got more important things on my mind and that's winning the game tomorrow.''

Asked whether he was fed up with criticism of his preference for Darren Anderton over Beckham, Hoddle opted for cold and calculated silence. ''Not at all,'' he said. I've not read any articles about what Alex has said. I don't need to answer any questions over it. I intend to get on with the next game. I will talk after the game. It doesn't worry me one bit. I'm focused on the team and getting a result against Romania.

''I'm not doing my job right if I'm worried about whoever. But it saddens me that we've had so many questions about something that's nothing to do with the game. I'm disappointed in that.''

Ferguson, in an article ghost-written by his close friend Hugh McIlvanney, made clear that he was unhappy with the way his player had been made to answer questions at a press conference while still clearly upset at his surprise exclusion from the team which faced Tunisia. ''He must have been devastated emotionally and asking him to bare his soul in public was not likely to help anybody but the headline-writers,'' wrote Fergie. ''It is something I would never have allowed. Was there anything more likely to put him under pressure than being questioned by a roomful of reporters? Even if he wanted to do the interview, he should have been talked out of it.