Gascoigne has never previously managed a football club

The 38-year-old - part of a consortium that has taken over the club - will work with former Arsenal midfielder Paul Davis, named as a coach.

"It feels good, I'm excited. I know it's Kettering Town and it isn't Premiership football," Gascoigne said.

"But the plans we have worked on with (consortium leader) Imraan Ladak for the past six weeks have been exciting."

The Midlands club, founded in 1872, is currently fifth in the Conference North - two divisions below the Football League.

They have been drawing crowds of about 1,000 to league games this season, and Gascoigne said the aim was to become a league club.

"They haven't been in the Football League in 133 years, so that will be one of the main objectives to get this team up there. That will be something for the supporters to look forward to," he said.

"I'm not going to say we'll do it this season or next season, there's a lot we can improve on, whether that's with the players we've got now or the players we bring in."

Just because he was a good player does not mean he will succeed there From CT Have your say on 606

Gascoigne won 57 England caps and was widely regarded as the most talented British player of his generation.

He was part of the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the FA Cup in 1991 although he seriously damaged his knee in a wild tackle early in the first half of their 2-1 extra-time win over Nottingham Forest.

This was the first in a series of injury problems, especially during his three years at Lazio.

He returned to Britain to find success at Rangers in Scotland, where he won the league title, before moving to Middlesbrough and Everton.

He played briefly for China's Gansu Tianma and England's Boston United as player-coach before retiring as a player in 2004.

Consortium leader Ladak said he would make money available for Gascoigne to spend, but stressed the club would not have unlimited funds.

"We've had a look at a couple of players over the past few weeks. A couple of clubs have come up with extortionate prices because they feel that the club's going to be awash with money," he said.

"We have a stadium issue that we need to sort out urgently because our lease is due to run out in the next few years.

"So while there will be money to spend, we won't be paying anything over an acceptable price for players."