Hughes backing super Gareth to fire up Dragons

GARETH BALE can turn back time and quash any rumours of retirement.

Former Wales chief Mark Hughes believes the country’s most famous player may reinvent himself to prolong his career with the Red Dragons.

Hughes is at a loss to explain why Bale, 31, was not an automatic starter while on loan at Tottenham last season under Jose Mourinho and then caretaker boss Ryan Mason.

But he says he cannot believe the growing whispers that the Real Madrid man may call time on his international career after the Euros.

Hughes (right) suggested a role off the frontline could extend his time with the Dragons side still further.

Speaking at a

Betfair event, he said: “We’ve all been disappointed with the amount of game time Gareth’s had at Spurs.

“It’s a strange one. I don’t understand what’s happened.

“Jose Mourinho wants his wide guys to tuck in and do the defensive work.

“Gareth’s not going to do that. He will do it to a certain extent but maybe not to the extent that his previous club manager wanted.

“Okay, he has had injury problems in the past. Sometimes players need to be in their mind as near to 100 per cent as possible.

“Sometimes players can be 75 per cent and play. Perhaps Gareth needs to be at 95 per cent before he can perform.

“He plays at a pace and with such power that he will be susceptible to muscles pinging.

“But I can’t believe he’s going to pack it in. He’s got another year in Madrid and I can’t believe he will jack it in at that age.

“I certainly hope not because he can certainly get to the

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World Cup if he wants to. And Wales haven’t qualified for one since 1958, so that will be a target for him.

“He can do it if he wants. If you look back at Ryan Giggs and how he developed, Ryan was just a flying machine when he burst on to the scene.

“No one could keep up with him.

But as he became older he became more intelligent and dropped back. “Gareth has the capability of doing that. If he wanted to, he could get away with playing at 80 per cent of what he was and he would still be an asset.”

Hughes hopes that the lack of action for the likes of Bale, Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey could prove a big help for Wales.

Ben Davies is another who has only just shrugged off an injury to declare his full fitness.

But Ramsey is Wales’ key performer, even though his time at Juventus has not gone to plan.

Hughes added:

“With Aaron, it’s a different one. He’s had injuries. Maybe he has had to prioritise his club before his country for the first time.

“Only in as much as he felt he needed to be around the place and in people’s faces to get the game time that he felt he needed.

“If that meant missing Wales games, so be it. We have all been guilty of that.

“I did that myself as a player.

“I hope that the lack of game time will help Wales.

“It could be they are fresh. I certainly hope so.”

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