Interim Wales boss Rob Page hits back at Tottenham's Jose Mourinho over Gareth Bale and Arsenal coach jibes
The temporary Wales boss has responded to comments made by the Tottenham manager regarding the treatment of Gareth Bale under Arsenal coach Albert Stuivenberg
By Tom Coleman
Wednesday 11th November 2020
Gareth Bale receives medical attention during Spurs' 1-0 win against West Brom (Image: Peter Powell - Pool/Getty Images)
Rob Page says he hasn't spoken to Jose Mourinho over how best to handle Gareth Bale's fitness, and has dismissed concerns over the Tottenham winger working under Arsenal coach Albert Stuivenberg.
Mourinho had previously claimed he was 'uncomfortable' about the way Bale's fitness may be handled in the Wales camp, particularly given Stuivenberg's connections with one his team's arch rivals, adding that he feared Tottenham's carefully laid out plans to bring the player back to full fitness would subsequently be shredded.
Bale's fitness has admittedly been a concern heading into this camp, but he is now fully fit ahead of what is a crucial triple header of games for the Red Dragons, although he could yet be rested for the friendly clash with the United States on Thursday night.
It comes after both Wales and Spurs fans were briefly left sweating on Sunday when Bale was pictured with an ice pack on his ankle during the 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
But Page, who has taken temporary charge after Ryan Giggs stepped aside in light of his recent arrest, has moved to ease any lingering concerns, and has stressed that the Spurs star is in good hands.
"We've got Joe Rodon don't forget, and Ben Davies," he said. "Tottenham players have been involved with this squad for a number of years now. We've got three of his players and of course, he's going to show an interest.
"But Albert's been involved with the Welsh set-up for a couple of years and there's never been any problems.
"So I've no response to that at all. We'll go about our business to get the players into the best possible shape for games."
Asked if he'd spoken to Mourinho about an agreed plan of action for the 31-year old, Page replied: "No. There's a plan we have with Gareth. It's no different to any other player.
"We've got a medical team around us that are second to none, in my opinion.
"We have a template in place for any player coming in. If they have any individual plans themselves, then we'll adhere to that as well. From our point of view there's been no communication. But we've got a plan to get the players fit in a sensible manner."
Many will likely view Mourinho's comments as rather unhelpful given the circumstances around the current Wales camp, but Page himself admits he can see things from the Portuguese's point of view.
"I can empathise with what he's saying," he added. "I've been a club manager myself, albeit I didn't have many going for international duty.
"But we're borrowing one of his players to play for Wales. Of course we're going to look after him.
"We've got one of the best medical teams in the country. We trust in what they do and we're not going to undo any work that's going on at club level."
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