A nice Bale interview

From the Tottenham Journal, comes across pretty well.

Gareth Bale is determined to avoid a “downward spiral" by staying grounded - and he has highlighted the importance of his team-mates and Andre Villas-Boas after his stellar season.

It has been a season to savour for Gareth Bale, who has won a glut of awards, been hailed as “the best player in Europe" by Zinedine Zidane and is now being coveted by the biggest clubs on the continent.

An international star who is being valued in excess of £80million, the 23-year-old has the world at his feet and it would perhaps be understandable to see his ego growing with his reputation.

However, the modest Welshman has little intention of getting carried away with his personal success and accolades, and he insists he will continue to keep his feet firmly on terra firma.

“Obviously it’s great to win the awards but I think you look on that at the end of your career – what you’ve won individually and team-wise," Bale told Spurs TV. “It’s obviously great in the moment, you enjoy the moments, but you never get too carried away. You just keep focused on the job in hand.

“The boys and my family and friends always keep me on the ground. I just come in every day as normal like nothing’s happened. I get my head down and work and do the best I can for myself and the team, which is the most important thing.

“I think as soon as you lose sight of that then you’re in a downward spiral, and I know in myself that I can’t do that and that I never will do that."

To underline the point, Bale is keen to highlight the contribution that his team-mates and his head coach, Andre Villas-Boas, have made to his stunning campaign, which yielded a magnificent 26 goals and 10 assists for Tottenham.

“It’s been an amazing season for me individually but I think it’s been a great team effort all season," he said. “We’ve been working hard.

“Obviously Andre came in at the start of the season and changed the way we play and I think we’ve adapted very well to that.

“We’ve grown as a team all season and I think that’s helped me individually, and that’s why I’m able to play so well and get my awards, which has been a fantastic year for me. It’s been great but we just need to kick on now.

“Everyone was excited about Andre coming in. He’s a young manager, he’s got a great past at Porto – maybe not so much at Chelsea but obviously given time, like he has been this season, he’s shown what a good manager he is. It’s been a very exciting time for the club.

“Obviously he’s tried his new tactics, his new style of play with us. Sometimes it does take a bit of time just to get used to it, and at the start of the season I think it was a bit difficult – but as the season’s gone on we’ve got used to it, we’ve adapted and got stronger and stronger.

“He [Villas-Boas] has helped me in all aspects of my game. In training we’ve been working on things that I can do in games, and in games he’s given me the confidence to do what I want and do what I do best, which is a massive thing for a player."

Bale’s phenomenal performances have made him a marked man, but he feels the extra attention has helped him to improve.

“Have I noticed a different approach from opposing players? Definitely, there are players now who are following me around the pitch everywhere I go," he said.

“It does get difficult but it’s also a challenge for me to adapt my game and to find space again, even whilst being marked, and I’ve been able to do that again this season.

“It’s been difficult at times but I think that’s then upped my game and taken me to another level again."

And it is not just opposing players who give Bale special treatment.

“I get more abuse than anyone when I go away from home!" he said. “You get used to it. I suppose it’s a compliment in a way, that they don’t want you on the ball, they don’t want you doing anything good, they try to put you off.

“It’s all good fun and games and I enjoy it. I like proving the other fans and the other teams wrong."


http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/tottenham-hotspur/tottenham-hotspur/spurs_star_gareth_bale_vows_i_ll_never_get_carried_away_with_my_own_success_1_2224324