Gareth Bale believes he is now benefitting from his baptism of fire at Tottenham.
Tough start has stood Wales youngster in good stead
Gareth Bale believes he is now benefitting from his baptism of fire at Tottenham.
Bale was just 17 when Spurs splashed out an initial £5million to sign the left-sided player from Southampton in May 2007 - a fee which could rise to £10m.
It was a steep learning curve for the Wales international as he was put straight into the firing line by then-coach Martin Jol and he did not finish on the winning side for 24 Premier League appearances which, partly due to injury, were spread over two years.
Bale, who does not turn 21 until July, failed to impress in the early days of Harry Redknapp's reign but has been a regular since December, helping Spurs maintain their top-four challenge and beat Fulham in midweek to book an FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth.
"I think as you get older you become more experienced and more mature, and obviously confidence is a big thing," he said.
"Inside, I knew what I could do, but it was just getting opportunities to show that. Since January I've had that chance and it couldn't have gone any better.
Tough times
"Obviously, I think you learn more quickly. There are tough times, but when you get your chance at a younger age you take so much on-board - that's a good thing, it earns you sound experience which will shape the way you go on to play the game.
"Progressing from the youth-team to the first-team is a big step but I think if your temperament is right and you have quality people around you, then the rewards can be fantastic.
"What has helped is that the manager's come in and there's a bit of stability now," Bale added.
"Everybody's focused on what we're doing on the pitch. Everyone's enjoying the fact that we're exceeding expectations in the Premier League; we just want to do as well as we can."
Although Bale has recently been pushed forward to make full use of his attacking instincts, he feels much of his recent form has been down to improving the defensive side of his game.
"I've been working with all the coaching staff to help with my all-round game," he added.
Fine-tuning
"Whenever the opportunity has arrived to play first-team football I've been trying my best and hopefully, in their eyes, have been playing well. Fine-tuning my defensive skills has been an important part of that.
"I'm an attacking full-back so that offensive side of my game comes naturally. Getting forward, that's my game. I like to move up the pitch at every opportunity. I do think I needed to work at my defensive skills and I've done that now so hopefully I can just keep improving.
"Combining the two has, I hope, made the Gareth Bale package all the better. It has certainly been a very exciting time.
"I still feel I'm most comfortable at full-back but in recent matches I've been moved further forward. It's another new challenge and, if the manager feels we are a better proposition as a result of it, then I am happy with that."
