Bale must be contained - Sam
Saturday 23rd February 2013 13:45
Sam Allardyce believes West Ham will have a greater chance of beating Tottenham on Monday if they can stop Gareth Bale lighting up Upton Park.
The Welsh winger has been in scintillating form for Spurs this season, already scoring 17 goals and hauling Andre Villas-Boas' side out of trouble on more than one occasion.
Allardyce saw his side lose 3-1 at White Hart Lane in November, with Bale's name on the scoresheet and a Jermain Defoe brace proving enough for Spurs to take the points.
Although Allardyce is aware of the numerous attacking options at Villas-Boas' disposal he knows Bale is more than likely the man who can inspire Spurs to get a result.
"They've been very good," the 58-year-old said of Spurs' season.
"The team from an attacking point of view has been outstanding, Recently they've lost their leading goalscorer, who is Jermain Defoe, and (Emmanuel) Adebayor has been away at the Africa Cup of Nations, so from a goalscoring point of view they've had to rely on one man and one man only to come up with the goods.
"That's Gareth Bale and he's been the major difference between Tottenham and the teams they've played recently.
"Not only has he scored very important goals, but they've been stunning goals at that. He's going to need some looking after on Monday night."
Clint Dempsey, Lewis Holtby, Aaron Lennon and Mousa Dembele are all capable of popping up with goals for Spurs but Allardyce is keen for the club's fans to get behind his players, who he believes are more than able to provide moments of magic themselves.
He said: "If we can do that we nullify a threat that Tottenham have. Of course [Aaron] Lennon is a threat down the other side, but he doesn't quite score as many goals as Gareth Bale.
"We're not sure yet whether Jermain Defoe will be fit, but certainly we've got to cope with that strike force.
"Our home form has been excellent all season and so we're going to hopefully make sure Tottenham worry about us for a long period of time on Monday night, rather than us worry about them too much."
Hammers defender James Collins is in contention to make his return from a hamstring injury against Spurs and the Wales international admits the squad have discussed the threat of Bale, making comparisons between his countryman and some of the Barclays Premier League's best players.
"He is on fire but he has been terrific all season for them. It is a tough one," he said.
"I was speaking with Mark Noble the other day about [Robin] van Persie, we said he is the sort of player, that if he is going to score he will, Gareth is similar in that respect.
"We know like other teams, you have to be on your toes with a player like Gareth, he is one of the best players in the Premier League at the moment.
"But as a team we will go into this game with confidence, we know what we can do at home and will be giving it a right go, to get those three points."
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It looks like West Ham will have special plan for Bale. Other players like Dembele, Lennon, Adebayor or Dempsey will need to step up and win the game for us.
