Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Graham Roberts has told The Transfer Tavern that interim coach Ryan Mason must give Gareth Bale more chances in the Spurs starting XI.

The Wales international was used sparingly at best by ex-manager Jose Mourinho, who was sacked on Monday.

Indeed, Bale made just six starts under Mourinho in the Premier League, with his seventh of the campaign coming against Southampton on Wednesday.

He was in exceptional form as he came off the bench against West Ham United in February, a game Spurs still lost 2-1, and was then given a run of games, as he started against Burnley, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Arsenal.

He scored four goals in those games, laying on one assist, but he struggled against the Gunners and was substituted after 57 minutes, and has played a mere 10 minutes since.

And Roberts says that he wasn’t given enough of a chance by Mourinho, while hoping that can be rectified between now and the end of the season - starting on Sunday after it was reported that Harry Kane is a doubt having failed to train on Friday.

Speaking exclusively to TT, the former UEFA Cup winner said: “No, give him a chance now. Look what happened when we played West Ham.

“He came on and totally changed the game at half-time and then he played well for the next three or four games. We played Arsenal, everybody was garbage, because of his tactics, and we haven’t seen him since.

“He’s been on that bench again, warming the bench.”