Gareth Bale 'happier than ever' at Tottenham, believes manager Jose Mourinho

Wales star had been struggling at Spurs after loan move from Real Madrid

Tottenham's Gareth Bale in action against Wolfsberger. EPA

Jose Mourinho claims Gareth Bale is "happier than ever" as the Tottenham forward tries to salvage his troubled second spell at the Premier League club.

Bale has been dogged by fitness problems and poor form since returning to Tottenham on a season-long loan from Real Madrid.

But the Wales captain is starting to show signs of his old self after shining in the Europa League matches against Wolfsberger.

He could make a rare Premier League start against Burnley on Sunday after Tottenham boss Mourinho said he is playing with freedom again after the difficult end to his spell in Madrid, where he won the Champions League four times but was frozen out by boss Zinedine Zidane.

"I think the mental is always a consequence of the physical. If a player feels great, if he is playing 100 per cent and if the feelings are all good, there are no psychological problems or fears or barriers," Mourinho said.

"When you have little worries and especially when you have a recent history of injuries it's normal to have some fears and these fears have a consequence. But lately he has been fine.

"It's just a question of how many minutes he can play and how many days he needs to recover between matches. He looks happier than ever, he looks confident. In training you can see he has his confidence back, the way he hits his shots.

"You could see from his goal on Wednesday. It was a confident shot. A player with fear or negative feelings would never have hit that type of shot. To strike the ball that way, I think that strike means a lot.

Tottenham v Wolfsberger: Player ratings

SPURS RATINGS: Joe Hart, 7 – A fifth clean sheet in ten appearances this campaign for the experienced keeper, who was forced into a couple of comfortable, routine stops but was otherwise untroubled. AFP

Matt Doherty, 6 – Fequently looked to get himself into crossing areas. He picked up a needless booking for a late challenge, but unleashed Erik Lamela after stealing possession on halfway. EPA

Toby Alderweireld, 6 - The Belgian saw yellow for dissent after Eric Dier fouled Cheikhou Dieng. Hardly called upon defensively. Getty

Eric Dier, 6 - Struck a free-kick straight into the wall at one end and had little to do at the other, although to his credit he read the danger well to snuff out Kai Stratznig’s pass in behind with Dejan Joveljic in pursuit. Reuters

Ben Davies, 7 – Booked for a trip on Dieng. Produced a couple of excellent driving runs and asked questions of the Wolfberger defence with some dangerous whipped crosses from the left. PA

Moussa Sissoko, 7 - A relaxed performance from the midfielder who was involved in a couple of neat one-two exchanges, first with Doherty and later Carlos Vinicius after a storming run forward having dispossessed Dieng. Getty

Harry Winks, 7 – A steady display. He found himself charging after a hopeful ball down the line which he never really had a chance of chasing down, but that epitomised his endeavour. AFP

Erik Lamela, 8 - The Argentine was desperately close to an assist having teed up Vinicius whose effort was cleared off the line. A classy display from the gifted midfielder who tried his luck with a flurry of shots too. Getty

Dele Alli, 9 - A statement of intent from Alli, who struck a wonder goal when he opened the scoring with an acrobatic bicycle kick, before teeing up Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale after the break. Getty

Steven Bergwijn, 6 – Some way off his best. He drew the best out of Manuel Kuttin but was wasteful in possession at times. AFP

Carlos Vinicius, 8 - Tough job filling the shoes of Harry Kane. Another productive night and doubled Spurs' advantage with a header at the back post before putting the icing on the cake with a fine curling effort. PA

SUBS: Gareth Bale (On for Lamela 69') 7 - Another bright outing for the Welshman who made it two in two against Wolfsberger with a thunderbolt into the top corner. AFP

Lucas Moura (On for Bergwijn 69') 6 - Couldn’t add to his goal from the first leg in a relatively quiet display, although little more was required of him in truth. AFP

Marcel Lavinier (On for Doherty 74') N/A - Little to do for the youngster, but helped his side record a clean sheet. PA

Dane Scarlett (On for Alli 81') N/A - A second taste of European football for the 16-year-old and managed to grab his first professional assist. AFP

Nile John (On for Sissoko 82') N/A - Little more than a cameo for the teenager. PA

WOLFSBERGER RATINGS: Manuel Kuttin, 5 - It’s never a good night when you concede four goals, especially when you’ve already shipped four in the first leg. In fairness, he made a couple of decent saves and, at one point produced a 40-yard sprint to clear danger. Getty

Gustav Henriksson, 5 - A mixed night for the Swede who thwarted Vinicius with a remarkable goal line clearance, only to gift possession to Dane Scarlett later on and he picked out Vinicius who made no mistake this time. AP

Dominik Baumgartner, 4 - Halted Lamela in the first half with a good interception. Booked in the 61st minute for going straight through the back of Vinicius and he was withdrawn four minutes later. AFP

Luka Lochoshvili, 5 - Managed to scramble a loose ball away to safety, but other than that was largely anonymous. That’s not particularly his fault either, Spurs just decided to flick the rampant switch. Reuters

Michael Novak, 6 - Did well to read the danger and get his body in the way of Bergwijn’s first-half strike before combining neatly with Dieng on the Wolfsberger right, but the move came to nothing. One of his side’s better performers. Getty

Kai Stratznig, 5 – Had very few touches of the ball, such was Spurs’ dominance after the break, and he was withdrawn for the final 11 minutes with the contest over. AFP

Christopher Wernitznig, 5 - Did his best to frustrate the hosts with some niggly fouls in the middle of the park. He went into the book for his efforts. AFP

Jonathan Scherzer, 6 - Flashed a dangerous strike across the face of goal that glanced just wide of Joe Hart’s post and that was as close as his side came to scoring. Reuters

Michael Liendl, 6 - Channelled his inner Kevin De Bruyne when he hit a wonderful pass over the top which found Joveljic, having earlier failed to show the same level of precision when he could only prod a tame effort straight at Hart. PA

Cheikhou Dieng, 6 - Another rare bright spark on a dismal evening for the Austrian outfit. The striker worked hard to make a nuisance of himself and produced a couple of dangerous bursts into dangerous territory. Reuters

Dario Vizinger, 5 - A quiet performance from the Croatian who found chances hard to come by and was withdrawn at the break having contributed little. EPA

SUBS: Dejan Joveljic (On for Vizinger 46') 5 – Created a couple of chances, but he could only nod over the bar and directed his side’s best opportunity straight at a grateful Hart. AP (image from first leg)

Mario Pavelic (On for Novak 46') 4 - Brought on at the interval as Ferdinand Feldhofer looked to plug sizeable gaps in his defence, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. EPA

Stefan Peric (On for Scherzer 65') 4 - Replaced Jonathan Scherzer, in a double-change just past the hour-mark. Like Pavelic and Giorbelidze he couldn’t stop the rot. Getty

Guram Giorbelidze (On for Baumgartner 65') 4 - Charged across to thwart Doherty with a good block with his only contribution of note. EPA

Nemanja Rnic (On for Stratznig 79') N/A - A cameo for the 36-year-old who was never going to change things in the 11 minutes or so that he was on the pitch. AFP

"It means freedom. It means freedom in relation to the brain muscle. For this you need to be in a good condition. He is in the best condition since he arrived."

There have been times where Bale would often make himself unavailable, irking Mourinho earlier this month when he pulled out of the FA Cup trip to Everton despite posting a picture on Instagram suggesting he had enjoyed a good training session.

Mourinho insists that Bale knows his body better than anyone and managing him properly could see him have a telling impact as the season hits the crucial part.

"He is a player with a lot of experience and a player with a lot of experience, they know their body better than anyone," Mourinho added.

"There is no coach, no fitness coach, no sports scientist, no medical that knows better than a very experienced player. We trust his experience and analysis."