Paul Gascoigne has said his latest booze setback, which ended with farcical appearance at a Northampton charity night, was caused by boredom.
Former England midfielder recently spent a month in at a rehabilitation clinic in Phoenix, Arizona after another relapse in his well-publicised battle with alcohol.
It came after an appearance at the Cobblers’ charity sporting dinner at the Park Inn Hotel in Northampton last month.
Guests, who paid £100 per ticket to hear anecdotes from the 1990 World Cup hero, saw him abandon the stage after only ten minutes after he burst into tears.
Audience members said he was also trembling uncontrollably and apologised after swearing several times while answering questions put to him by his agent.
His latest stint in rehab was organised by TalkSPORT presenter and former England cricketer Ronnie Irani and Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans, a long-term friend of Gascoigne.
The 45-year-old former Kettering Town manager told Sky Sports News: “There was no one to blame for my relapse. I might drink in the future but that’s what it is, being an alcoholic.
“I didn’t respond to (chief executive) Steve Spiegel (at) the Providence Projects (an alcohol and drug rehab organisation) and I should have done when I was feeling down and the support I got around the Providence was fantastic.
“I was just bored, that’s the worst thing for me but I suppose it was me that made myself bored.”
The former Newcastle, Tottenham and Lazio man has insisted he is focused on his recovery although he is taking things one day at a time.
He said: “The last 11 years, I’ve probably drank 14 months out of it. The press say I’m drinking all the time, it’s not.
“I was three years sober and then I had a four or five weeks binge. It’s just those little binges so I’ve just got to stop those binges.
“When I’m drinking, I forget about everyone and don’t realise the hurt I’m doing to everyone but I’ve also got to think about the hurt I was doing to myself.
“I don’t know if I’m ever going to touch a drink again. I just know that I’m not drinking today.”