Chris Coleman has refuted rumours that Gareth Bale is happy sitting on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday Night Football, which was broadcast on Sky Sports.
Bale has not had the impact that many were expecting since returning to Spurs this summer.
The Welshman has struggled for game time, and plenty of pundits have now claimed that the Tottenham winger is simply happy collecting his wage and playing a bit-part role at a club where he is loved.
However, Coleman, who managed Bale over a number of years at international level, insists that the 31-year-old would never have that attitude.
“Knowing Gareth he’s a very serious boy but he loves playing football,” he said. “I’ve heard comments that maybe he’s happy playing off the bench, but he won’t be happy being on the bench. He’ll very much want to be in the heart of it.”
There is still hope that Bale could turn things around at Tottenham as the season progresses, but time is running out.
Jose Mourinho has continuously favoured other options in his squad and when Bale has been offered chances he has hardly grabbed them with both hands.
Bale’s most recent start for Tottenham came against Brighton & Hove Albion, but he was completely ineffective, as Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat.
Tottenham are next in action tomorrow evening when they take on Everton in the FA Cup, and it will be interesting to see whether Mourinho is more inclined to give the attacker a chance in cup competition.
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