Welsh winger Gareth Bale hasn’t exactly been igniting since his return to Tottenham Hotspur and Jose Mourniho has explained what he needs to do to get more minutes.
Mourinho says it is not a matter of him giving the winger minutes but that Bale needs to train consistently ‘without problems’ in order to get more matches under his belt.
The loan return for the 31-year-old from Real Madrid has so far been a disappointment as the Welshman arrived back at the club with a knee injury that delayed his second debut and this was exacerbated when a calf injury suffered during the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Stoke City impeded his progress just as he was starting to find some rhythm in his performances and had scored three goals.
Welshman Bale has so far started only one Premier League match for Tottenham since returning in September, with the bulk of his 12 appearances coming in the Europa League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
Tottenham boss Mourinho explained that he cannot simply hand minutes to players just because they need them at this stage of the season and that it is up to Bale himself to overcome physical problems on the training pitch first.
“I cannot give players minutes,” said the Spurs boss. “Minutes on the pitch is not something that I can give.
“I am going in this direction, we all know the difficulties he had in the last couple of seasons, we all know that he arrived injured and we all know that even this season a little bit up and down with small things.
“The most important thing for him is to be consistent training without problems. When a player is consistently training at high intensity without any problems then the player is ready. Not to be given minutes but is ready to earn minutes and that is a different thing.”
The question was also put to Mourinho whether, with the FA Cup fourth round tie at Wycombe Wanderers on Monday, Bale was training without problems yet.
“This week he is working every minute like everybody else at a good intensity and let’s see the way he reacts to that load of work and how he reacts by the end of the week,” he said.
“If he feels, because it is also about his own feelings, if he feels that the week he had has had a positive impact on him and on his confidence he will play.”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
