The Wales star has yet to truly find his form at Spurs, and his manager says its up to the winger to prove himself worthy of more chances
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho says he will not simply hand Gareth Bale chances to play, insisting that the Real Madrid loanee must earn every chance he gets with the club.
Bale rejoined Spurs in the summer, making the move on loan in a much-discussed homecoming to his former club.
But the Wales star has struggled to make a regular impact since returning to north London, featuring just 11 times all season.
Bale has appeared just four times in the Premier League, although he has featured more frequently in the Europa League this campaign.
He could also be part of the Spurs team to face Wycombe this week in the FA Cup, but Mourinho says that Bale must earn his opportunities just like every other player in the team.
“I cannot give players minutes, minutes on the pitch is not something I can give, so I’m not going in this direction,” Mourinho said.
“We all know the difficulties he had for a couple of seasons, we all know that he arrived injured, we all know that even this season [has been] a little bit up and down with small things.
“The most important thing for him is to be consistent, training without any problems and when a player is consistent in training, high intensity without any kind problems then the player is ready.
“Not to be given minutes, but is ready to earn minutes, and that for me is a difference.
“This week he is working every minute like everybody else at a good intensity and let’s see the way that he reacts to the accumulation of that kind of work and let’s see how he reacts by the end of the week.
“The match [against Wycombe] is Monday and we still have training sessions to evaluate that. It is also about his confidence.
“If he feels that the week that he’s had has had a positive impact on him and, on his confidence, he will play.”
Tottenham are currently fifth in the Premier League, one point behind Liverpool with a game in hand.
After facing Wycombe on Monday, Spurs will play host to Liverpool on Thursday before then facing off with Brighton over the weekend.
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