Gareth Bale aimed a thinly-veiled dig at old manager Jose Mourinho after scoring a hat-trick in Tottenham’s 4-0 victory over Sheffield United on Sunday.
Tottenham were in total control from the very start with Bale, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Lo Celso and Dele Alli offering a potent attacking threat.
But, Bale was the star of the game – the Welshman scored a 33-minute hat-trick with goals either side of half-time to give the north London side a commanding 3-0 lead.
Interim manager Ryan Mason has been praised for restoring some of the club’s traditional attacking verve after the negative reign of Mourinho.
It’s something not lost on Bale, who told Sky Sports: “(It’s) the fact that we’re more on the front foot, we’re closer to the goal and you’re able to score more. We’re playing football the Tottenham way.”
Bale’s comments could be seen as a dig at Mourinho, who received huge criticism for trying not to lose games instead of trying to win them during his time at the club.
The Portuguese manager was sacked last month after a poor run of results which had seen Spurs exit the Europa League to Dinamo Zagreb and slip away from Champions League contention.
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Mourinho was also criticized for his treatment of Bale, with the Real Madrid loanee starting just six Premier League games under the ex-Chelsea coach.
“I feel good, as I’ve said before I just needed to play games, to get a run of games and I’m doing that now,’ Bale said, looking to the future. “I’m happy and when I’m happy I normally play well.
“It was a great performance from the first whistle. I feel like we were on the font foot and we pressed well, got hold of the ball, played some good football. It’s always nice to get another (hat-trick) ball.
“You have to take your chances when they come, and I had a few tonight.
“Winning always makes everyone happy, it gives a winning mentality to the dressing room. That’s all we can do.”
