‘All it took was’ – Gareth Bale explains early-season struggles at Spurs

Gareth Bale has insisted that all it took for him to regain form at Tottenham was a run of games, which he did not get until later in the season.

Bale was written off as flop by some pundits just a few months into his fairytale return to Tottenham, with some even questioning the Welshman’s attitude.

However, the 31-year-old showed in the final few months of the campaign that he remains a major threat in the final third.

In fact, Bale finished the campaign with 16 goals in all competitions, with 11 of those coming in the Premier League from just 20 appearances.

That meant that the on-loan Real Madrid star finished the season with the best minutes-per-goal ratio in the division.

Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett suggested last month that it was Jose Mourinho’s unwillingness to hand opportunities to his client that was the main reason behind his struggles at the start of the campaign.

Bale has now reiterated that sentiment, insisting that he simply was not allowed to build up his fitness with a run of matches.

When asked about the way he finished the season, the forward told The Guardian: “It was great to finish off the season, the last few months, in goalscoring form.

“All it took was for me to be playing games. I knew that; I think a lot of people knew that. It was just game time.

“Once I was given the opportunity to keep playing and get my actual Premier League fitness up it felt natural that my form would be back and I’d start scoring. No surprise to me.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It would not be the wisest of moves from Spurs if we decide not to re-sign Bale for next season, having given him the chance to build up his match fitness over the course of the last campaign.

He should be near peak condition at the start of next season after the European Championship and could thus have a big impact right from the start of the campaign if we manage to bring him back.

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