Gareth Bale has been ‘disappointing’ on his return to Tottenham, but showed glimpses of his best against Wycombe Wanderers.
That is the view of former Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle, who wants to see the Welshman back to his electric best in the Lilywhite shirt.
Bale has struggled since returning to Spurs on loan from Real Madrid in the summer, netting four times in 13 appearances for the north London club.
However, despite making a poor start against Wycombe in the FA Cup earlier this week, Bale found his feet quickly and looked to be the dangerous outlet we all know him to be.
Hoddle has been left far from convinced by Bale’s return, but said he saw signs of the winger returning to top form in the 4-1 FA Cup victory at Wycombe on Monday.
He told talkSPORT: “I’ve been very disappointed in him actually. I think he needed five or six weeks to get up to match fitness, but I was very disappointed in him because he didn’t look as if he was able to into a sprint and he looked a bit fragile mentally.
“Now, I think he’s looked in the mirror and said: ‘This isn’t good enough here.’
“To be fair to him, he could have had more goals [vs Wycombe] and if he can get close to that performance against Premier League sides, he’ll get himself in and around the starting XI and that will give Tottenham even more of a dimension.”
Hoddle has urged Bale to express himself more on the pitch and ‘earn’ his minutes from Jose Mourinho.
“He needs a bit more playing time but I agree with Jose, he wasn’t earning it,” he added.
“He came on against Brighton and was a key player and got us the goal to get the three points.
“But if he was out there and tearing people apart, playing lovely passes and creating, then he’d force his way into the manager’s reckoning.
“To be quite honest that wasn’t happening and now he’s got to look at himself and start afresh.”