Gareth Bale needs to show more "intent and aggression" if he is force his way into Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur side in the Premier League.
That is according to former Spurs midfielder and manager Glenn Hoddle.
Since returning to north London during the summer transfer window, signing on a season-long loan from Real Madrid, there was high hopes that the Welshman would produce the glitz and the glamour that he had shown so often during his first stint in the Premier League.
However, certainly so far, Bale's return has failed to live up to expectation, being restricted to a paltry three Premier League appearances, with only one of those three outings being a start.
The majority of the Wales international's appearances have come in the Europa League, starting all six of Spurs' Group J matches, including Thursday evening's 2-0 win over Royal Antwerp on Thursday evening.
Appearing on BT Sport's coverage of Spurs' win over Antwerp, which sealed top spot in Group J, Hoddle said: "I'd like him to show a bit more intent and aggression in his mind and prove to Jose ‘I need to be in the first team in the Premier League’.
"I don't see that at the moment.
“If that player is still in there anywhere what he was like two, three or four years ago, then Tottenham go into another gear.”
Despite starting the clash with Antwerp, Bale was substituted by Mourinho prior to the hour mark, robbing him the chance of completing his first, full 90 minutes since returning to the club.
However, Mourinho's decision to withdraw Bale from the action came as little surprise to Hoddle, who believes the winger should be ahead of where he currently is in regards to his fitness and performance levels.
“By now, I would expect him to be ahead of where he is, he looks fragile and tentative when he goes in and when it is tight," Hoddle added.
“He still seems unsure of his body, he hasn't quite got that change of pace. It is getting there but whether he gets it back again is the big question mark, and that was the big risk bringing Gareth back to Tottenham.
“But I feel there is more to come, which will elevate Tottenham's performance as well but it just feels like he is on the back foot.”
Since returning to the club, Bale has racked up a total of 509 minutes on the pitch, spanning across nine appearances in all competitions.
In total, the former Southampton youngster has scored just two goals, but has failed to register a single assist. With those statistics in mind, it may be clear as to why Mourinho is reluctant to hand regular game-time to the Real Madrid loanee.
