The Tottenham defender Gareth Bale has attempted to play down the panic surrounding the club's latest defeat to Premier League newcomers Hull City, saying the team can take plenty of plus points from the 1-0 defeat. Sunday's loss to the Tigers leaves the north London club propping up the rest of the league having only secured two points from their opening seven league games. Scoring has been the club's biggest problem so far. The side drew another blank in front of goal against Phil Brown's side despite dominating large parts of the game and hitting the woodwork twice ? one a superb free-kick effort from Bale ? but the Wales international says a much-improved team performance could be the catalyst for turning things around. "I think we played well as a team and created a lot of chances, but we just can't seem to get the ball in the back of the net at the moment," Bale told the club's official website (www.tottenhamhotspur.com). "But the fact we do seem to be playing better as a team suggests that win will come sooner rather than later. "We're just going to keep working hard in training and see what happens. We'll come back from the international break refreshed and ready to go." The international break could not have come at a better time for the under-fire Spurs boss Juande Ramos, who is seriously bereft in the striking department, and saw Roman Pavlyuchenko limp off in the first half at White Hart Lane with an ankle injury that will require a scan to determine the extent of the injury. The defeat to Hull consigns Spurs to their worst start to a season in 96 years.
sluckings@thenational.ae