Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale has confessed that Ryan Mason's attacking tactics have brought out a new side of the team that had not been seen under former boss Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho was hounded by fans for his 'negative' tactics, which saw Spurs set up to defend in the hope of punishing teams on the counter, but Mason has encouraged his players to fly forward and the results were clear to see on Sunday as Bale bagged a hat-trick en route to a 4-0 victory.
Bale was part of a revamped front line which saw him start alongside Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso, and the Welshman confessed after the game that it's a massive change from his time under Mourinho.
"We’re more on the front foot, we’re closer to the goal and you’re able to score more," he told Sky Sports. "We’ve been working on that now for the last few weeks. It’s obviously not going to happen overnight but I feel like we’re taking a step in the right direction.
"We're playing football the Tottenham way."
Bale, who was used sporadically by Mourinho towards the end of his reign, now has four goals in just two Premier League matches under Mason, and he admitted he has just been waiting for somebody to show enough faith in him.
"Winning always makes everyone happy and gives a winning mentality to the dressing room," he continued. "Obviously you have to take your chances when they come, and thankfully I had a few tonight.
"I'm feeling good. As I've said before I just needed to play games and get a run of games and I'm doing that now, so I'm happy and when I'm happy I normally play well."
After the game, Mason was asked about the likelihood of Bale remaining at Spurs beyond this season. His loan from Real Madrid has just a few weeks left to run and Spurs do not have the option to buy the Welshman as part of the deal.
“I think that is a conversation at the end of the season between Gareth, the club and his parent club, our main focus and priority should be the next game,” he said (via BT Sport).
“It sounds a cliché but it is true. I am glad he is happy, he should be because he has another matchball to add to the collection. It was an excellent performance as well.
“I think the decision at the moment and the priority is Gareth is ready to train and he is happy in training. We have got another big week of training because we have got a massive game next weekend and hopefully we can have a happy Gareth next weekend.”
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Source : 90min