By Paul Merson Portsmouth captain

Mark Bosnich is very lucky, he might not think he is, but believe me he is lucky that he got caught.

His positive cocaine test could have lead to other things - and he certainly doesn't want to go down the road I ended up on.

I am sure Bosnich can turn it round - he is that good a goalkeeper and hopefully people will give him a chance.

He is not just a professional football player earning a lorry-load of money, he is a human being Paul Merson

But will people give him a chance? Will the FA be silly and ban him for a year? What good is that going to do?

It's important that people get round the table and try to sort it out and do the right thing.

He is not just a professional football player earning a lorry-load of money, he is a human being.

He has got to face it and deal with it and come out the other side.

He is a strong person, I am sure that he will come back - as long as people give him a chance.

Merson has had problems with addictions

If he asks I will be more than willing to tell him about my experiences and try to help him.

That's all I can do - tell him about what happened to me, and how I recovered, by taking each day at a time.

I hope he gets better, depression is a big thing, money doesn't solve depression, it's part of a feeling.

It's all about getting better, it's not just about football - if you come back and play football, fair enough.

But there is more to life than football.

He will have to go through six to eight weeks in a treatment centre and drag everything up.

It is hard, it's the hardest thing you could ever do, but if you get out the other side it is the best thing you could ever do.

I will be gutted if Chelsea sack him just because he earns a lot of money and he has been caught taking drugs.

I think that would be the easy way out.