Redknapp salutes Bale progress

Harry Redknapp has hailed the progress made by Gareth Bale during his time at White Hart Lane - and feels a change in attitude has been key. Left-back Bale joined Spurs as a teenager in a deal worth up to £10million from Southampton back in May 2007.He failed to make an immediate impact and to make matters worse Spurs failed to win any of the first 24 league games he played in.The emergence of Benoit Assou-Ekotto limited Bale's left-back chances even further, although he was given a chance on the wing.He has grasped his opportunity with both hands and illustrated his growing confidence with a weekend brace in their 2-1 win over Stoke.Redknapp insists Bale needed to mature at White Hart Lane and needed to focus on building his strength rather than spending hours on his hair."Bale has grown up," said Redknapp. "When I first came to Spurs, Bale was still a baby, he always seemed to be limping off the training ground every time he got touched."He realised he had to be tougher if he was going to make it in the Premier League and he has done that."Have I had to talk to Bale about mental toughness? A bit, yeah. I just said, 'Stop messing about with your barnet'."I said, 'C'mon Gareth, stop messing about with your hair'. He was always at it."I can't think of a better left-sided player than Bale."That left foot of his is amazing, he can run all day, he can head it, he's 6ft 2in. He has got everything."You couldn't even put a value on him now. Almost any club would want him."

Source: Team_Talk