Jose Mourinho’s Gareth Bale plan paying off despite moments of Tottenham doubt

Tottenham v Crystal Palace: Match in pictures

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Gareth Bale’s return to Tottenham Hotspur on loan from Real Madrid this season came with much fanfare. Bale had departed Spurs for the Spanish giants seven years earlier and had gone on to win four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles at the Bernabeu.

The forward also struggled with injury problems throughout his time in Madrid and he had been frozen out of the team by manager Zinedine Zidane in recent seasons.

A return to Spurs on loan was a chance for Bale to rediscover his form but he initially struggled for game time as his familiar injury problems reared their head once more.

However, after a difficult first five months of his loan spell, Bale is starting to make a major impact.

Since the start of February, the forward has scored six goals and provided three assists in seven appearances in all competitions.

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In the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, Bale was on target once again as he netted a brace for the second successive home game.

Speaking earlier this month, Spurs boss Jose Mourinho explained that it can be difficult for a player to get back to their best after repeated injury problems and that it was important to remain patient with Bale.

“When a player has injuries, I believe he always has scars and many times they are not just physical ones, they are emotional scars,” Mourinho said.

“After a player is injured, for him to be free and clean emotionally takes some time and you have to be patient. At the moment the happiness is there. He is happy, he is clean and, hopefully, we all can manage his minutes, his matches, his feelings. 

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“He is responsible, we give him that responsibility because he is the one that has the knowledge of his body. Our communication is very good and we are managing the situation the best we can.”

That patience is now paying dividends, with Bale back producing the goods on a regular basis for Spurs.

Speaking in February, Mourinho stated his belief that the Welshman is now “better than ever”, saying: “Gareth is a very experienced guy, he knows his body better than anyone. It would be very nice for me now to say that I handled the situation amazingly well. I’m not that kind of guy.

“He knows his body very well. He knows that we are here to help him, help him especially to be a happy football player and I’m really happy for him, but he’s the one that has the feelings.

“Sometimes people write things, and sometimes, some of you like to imagine stories, you need to write stories and sometimes you like to say things that are not really true but there is not one single manager in the world that doesn’t play Gareth Bale if Gareth Bale is in very good condition. 

“There is not one, but now he is better than ever. It’s not just about the … goals he scored, it’s fundamentally about his physical performance. 

“Now he’s not flat. Now he has ups and downs in the speed he brings to his actions.

“Even in the area in which he plays, sometimes outside, sometimes inside. He played very well and his condition is very good.”

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