‘I don’t buy into this’ – Dickov rejects suggestions about Spurs star’s fitness

Former Manchester City striker Paul Dickov has rejected claims that Gareth Bale is still not 100 per cent fit and blamed the Welshman’s attitude for his struggles at Tottenham.

Bale has not had anywhere near the impact Spurs fans would have hoped for after he completed a fairytale return to North London on loan from Real Madrid in the summer.

The winger put in an extremely disappointing display after being handed a start against Brighton last month and Jose Mourinho decided that he had seen enough after 61 minutes when the wide man was replaced by Lucas Moura.

Bale was an unused substitute against both West Bromand Chelsea, with Mourinho refusing to offer an explanation as to why the on-loan Real Madrid man did not get any minutes against the Blues.

Some including former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp and former Wales boss Chris Coleman have suggested that Bale needs a run of games in the Spurs team in order to get back his sharpness and build some momentum.

However, Dickov rejected the claim and questioned the 31-year-old’s body language.

The pundit told Stadium Astro: “When he does get into the team, there’s a lack of hunger, it’s not quite there that he once had, his body language isn’t great.

“I don’t buy into this thing that he has not been fully fit because he has been at the club for a long time now, he is training every day.

“He should be chomping at the bit.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It is impossible for us to judge why things are not working out for Bale without knowing what is happening behind the scenes. Mourinho is not a coach who is shy of calling his players out if they show a poor attitude. The fact that the Spurs boss continues to defend Bale publicly suggests that the winger’s issues might well be fitness related.

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