Paul Gascoigne believes Wayne Rooney is being put under too much pressure at too young an age by England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Rooney's behaviour has been the subject of national debate in recent weeks, with his red card for Manchester United against Villarreal on Wednesday night and his yellow card in Belfast a week earlier.
Eriksson admitted he had considered substituting Rooney to prevent a sending off in the 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland.
But, although Gascoigne has faith in the ability of United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to get the best out of the player, he believes the England coach could do more.
He told the Daily Mail: "People forget how old Wayne is. It is not fair relying on a 19-year-old kid to win games for England.
"That should not happen. He should be welcomed, cuddled and caressed – and looked after a bit more.
"Of course you have to tell him to behave as well, but that will take time. It is not going to happen overnight just because he got sent off once."
He added: "But if it does not happen with Sir Alex Ferguson then Wayne is a fool to himself because he will get fed up sitting in the stands all the time through suspension."
