tottenham manager challenges gareth bale to claim a starting place

harry redknapp has challenged gareth bale to seize his opportunity in the tottenham team, saying the player has flattered to deceive for much of his time at the club.the wales defender, who joined for £5m from southampton in the summer of 2007, has his chance because of an ankle injury to benoît assou-ekotto, which could keep the first-choice left-back out for a further two or three weeks.redknapp gave bale only his fourth start of the season in the 4-0 fa cup third-round victory over peterborough, in which the 20-year-old had a hand in two of the goals. redknapp confirmed that bale was set to keep his place in the fixture at liverpool only for the game to be called off, and he has now pencilled him in for saturday's visit of hull city."it's a good opportunity for gareth to come and have a good run at it," redknapp said. "i've seen a big improvement in him. he's got stronger and the defensive side of his game has improved with him. he's got everything to be a top player. he's 6ft 2in, has a great physique, great left foot, can run; really, he should be one of the best left backs and i think he has the ability to be that. he's unlucky that benoît has been so good."for his first two seasons at the club, bale laboured under the tag of never having been on the winning team in a premier league match. the sequence stretched to 24 games. but in september he appeared as a late substitute in the 5-0 win over burnley and he has since come on in the victories against manchester city and west ham united.bale has been used, on occasion, as a left midfielder for tottenham as he has struggled with the defensive side of his game. but he feels that his hard work on the training ground is poised to pay off."i needed to improve on certain aspects of my game," bale said, "and i've been working on that with the coaching staff. the main thing i've worked on is my defending. it's not been easy sitting on the bench but i'll take it all on board and it will do me better for the future. i just want to keep playing and hopefully i'll get a run in the team now."

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