I was ready for my chance says Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale was interviewed by Absolute Radio Extra’s Ian Wright on Saturday (I wonder if he’s still wearing that hat?) and made some interesting comments in regards to the form he’s showed since breaking into the first team last season.

Wright quizzed the Welsh international on his slow start at Tottenham and remarkable turnaround from almost being loaned out to Nottingham Forest, to tormenting the champions of Europe. Bale said:

“There was a lot of talk about me going on loan and I don’t know if anything was ever going to happen. Benoit Assou Ekotto got injured, I got my chance and I’ve been prepared for a while, doing a lot of running after training just to get ready. My chance came and I was there to take it.

“After training I used to stay behind and do a bit more running with a few of the other lads and you do extra because if you’re not playing you’ve got a lot of energy and I think you need to keep fit. When people do get injured then you’ve got to be ready and willing to take your chance.

“In the past I’ve had injuries and coming back from them hasn’t been too easy and I had to be patient obviously not being in the team for a long time. I think the major thing is the belief in your own ability to be honest and when you get given the opportunity then you’ve got to be ready to take it.”

Bale’s form has coincided with Spurs qualifying for the Champions League and excelling in the competition. Wright asked how this has affected the team’s confidence and whether they are ready to challenge for the Premier League:

“I think we are a lot more confident now, obviously qualifying for the Champions League and a string of good results in the league. I think we’ve all got more belief that we can compete up their with the best teams and we will be working our hardest to do that. I definitely feel like all of the lads feel like we’ve got the kind of squad that is capable of being up in the mix.

“We were all striving for that position (Champions League) last year and I think now that we’re there I think a lot of us believe that we are capable of doing it now. We’re going out there and trying to produce what we know we can. We’re not chasing things now, so we know, we definitely know that we’ve got the ability in the team to do well and we’ve just got to prove it now.

“We go into every game looking to get at win and especially at home. We are all confident of beating anybody at home as we showed last season against Arsenal and Chelsea and this year of the likes of Inter Milan so we’re all confident that we can win games.”

Wright concluded the interview by asking where he prefers to play and why he mostly remains out of the media spotlight. The answer will be music to Spurs fans’ ears:

“To be honest I think I’m just happy playing wherever. I enjoy playing left full back or on the wing and it’s kind of up to the manager wherever he plays me and wherever I play I’ll give 110%. It doesn’t really make a difference to me.

“I just want to keep it low key and concentrate on my football.”