Former Tottenham captain Michael Dawson has said he would love to see Gareth Bale stay at Spurs for another season.
The Welshman is coming to the end of a season-long loan spell, having joined from Real Madrid last summer, with the 31-year-old scoring 14 goals and registering three assists in 31 appearances so far for Spurs after returning to the club.
Eight of those goals have come in his last nine appearances for Spurs, with Bale netting a fine hat-trick in a match-winning display against Sheffield United earlier this month.
However, he was disappointing as Tottenham struggled against Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, with Bale taken off after 67 minutes by interim Spurs boss Ryan Mason in the 3-1 defeat.
Spurs will have a decision to make when it comes to what happens next, with Tottenham understood to have the first option to bring Bale back to the club next season on the same terms as they have him now, which sees the north London club pay around 40 per cent of his Real Madrid salary.
Tottenham fans are split over whether or not to keep Bale at the club, but Dawson has sent a message to his old side ahead of the summer transfer window on what the Welshman needs, should he remain in north London.
"I know Gareth [Bale] from playing with him, so we know him as a character and I have always defended him," Dawson said on Talksport, having played with the 31-year-old during his first spell at Tottenham.
"We haven't seen Gareth in the way I would have expected to see him. However, he needs a run of games, we all do. We know as players, if you dip in and out, you need a run of games and he needs to be backed.
"You thought, when he came on against West Ham: 'Can this be the opportunity for him now? Can he establish himself? Can he be the main man?
"Then, the next game he is dropped, so I was always defending him, his quality doesn't disappear. We have seen glimpses of it against Sheffield United, but we need to see more of it.
"If I were Spurs, I would like to see him stay, but you have to play him week in, week out.
"There will be ups and downs and games where he doesn't maybe perform as well as he can, but you have to look after him injury wise, because he can pick injuries up.
"But he is a world class player and it didn't surprise me he played [like that] against Sheffield United. It was maybe a surprise that he didn't play against Manchester City [in the Carabao Cup final], but then we know he is better going forward than he is defensively.
"But I would love to see him stay. That will be down to him though, he said he came to play games and get himself fit for the Euros, and only time will tell."
