Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood believes that his side could have challenged for the title with Gareth Bale in the squad.
Gareth Bale produced a moment of magic in the Copa Del Rey final as he stormed past Marc Bartra and scored the winner in the 85th minute of the match to hand over Real Madrid their first trophy of this season. The Welsh international has proved his worth this season after a lot of people questioned his valuation. Bale has formed a lethal partnership in attack with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, and has already scored 20 goals and provided 15 assists in 32 starts in all competitions.
Tottenham Hotspur fans wouldnai??i??t have been surprised by Baleai??i??s brilliance in the final last night as they have encountered it far too often during his stint at White Hart Lane. But most of them would have pondered what if the Welsh winger was still a part the Spurs squad. Tottenham reinvested the huge transfer fee from Baleai??i??s deal into the squad and big things were expected of them at the start of this season. But they have not only failed to mount a title challenge, but are also on the verge of missing out on Champions League football once again.
Tim Sherwoodai??i??s future has come under a lot of speculations currently and the Tottenham manager believes Spurs could have mounted a title challenge with Gareth Bale in the squad. Sherwood was quick to point out that two of the best players on the pitch in the Copa Del Rey were former Tottenham players, Bale and Luka Modric ai??i?? implying at the huge task Spurs have had to face in order to replace player of this much quality.
“That [Scoring the winner in the Cope del Rey final] is business as usual for Gareth Bale.
“We saw what he did last year: 21 goals and nine assists. He scored the winner in eight games.
“We could do with that now, by the way. If you put those points that he accumulated for us on top of what we have got we would probably be challenging for the title.
“The two best players on the pitch last night (in the Copa del Rey final) were Gareth Bale and Luka Modric and that says everything.” ai??i?? The Tottenham Hotspur manager said.
Sherwood also stressed on the importance of finishing the season strongly, after what has been a fairly disappointing encounter. Although he did agree that Europa League could be an unwanted distraction, he wants his team to qualify for this competition next season.
“We are just focusing on trying to finish as high up the league as possible. People do say that the less games you have the more chance you have of emulating Liverpool (who have not played in Europe this season and are currently top of the league).
“The last time we qualified for the Champions League, the year before we weren’t in the Europa League. The stats don’t lie.
“But we’re certainly not going to go on to the field and try to lose a game now with four to go so we don’t qualify. That is not going to happen.” ai??i?? Sherwood added.
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