Gareth Bale might have to be content with place on Spurs bench for Fulham clash

Manager Mourinho says he has yet to decide whether in-form Wales attacker starts in Thursday's London derby

Gareth Bale enjoys the Tottenham Hotspur training session in Enfield, England. Getty

Gareth Bale is showing signs he is back to his best form. Getty

Heung-Min Son was another Tottenham player enjoying the session. Getty

Tottenham striker Harry Kane. Getty

Eric Dier of Tottenham at the training workout. Getty

Gareth Bale is all smiles. Getty

Sergio Reguilon enjoys the workout ahead of the match at Fulham. Getty

Lucas Moura and Eric Dier play head tennis during the Tottenham training session. Getty

Jose Mourinho has said that Gareth Bale might have to be content with a place on the bench for Tottenham's game at Fulham on Thursday.

The Wales international put in his best display of the season by scoring two goals and grabbing an assist in the 4-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.

But Mourinho continues to insist that Bales's time on the pitch must be managed carefully as he recovers from an injury-hit season and two years of inactivity at Real Madrid.

However, he will definitely be involved at Craven Cottage, either from the start or off the bench.

"I believe so. Start the game, being on the bench, I don't know. We have to decide," Mourinho said.

"|He's such an experienced guy so of course his opinion is very important. But good reaction, good recovering session and he will be involved. I repeat: bench or starting but he'll be there."

Bale's return to top form has been a long time coming as it looked like his loan return from Real Madrid was going to be a flop.

Asked why it had taken the 31-year-old so long to get to top form, Mourinho said: "Why for the past two years he had what he had in Madrid? Ask them. Maybe if they answer you, you can understand better why he took a while.

"Maybe to be patient was the main reason for him to reach the level he showed in the last couple of weeks."

On player that will not be making the shortish trip across London is Giovani Lo Celso. Mourinho says the Argentine midfielder is still "one to two weeks away from being ready" and will not be risked.

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Spurs 4 Burnley 0: player ratings

TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris - 6. Kept a 100th clean sheet in the Premier League and few of those will have come any easier than this. Reuters

Serge Aurier - 7. Supported Bale well down Tottenham's right. Solid in defence on his return from injury before being taken off with 10 minutes remaining. Reuters

Davinson Sanchez - 7. A much-improved performance from the error-prone Colombian. Put in some important blocks on Vydra. Reuters

Toby Alderweireld - 7. Kept things simple at the back and left his mark on Vydra in an aerial duel. EPA

Sergio Reguilon - 7. The lythe Spaniard wriggled out of any trouble with ease and looked to offer an option out wide. AFP

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7. Another no-nonsense performance from Tottenham's no-nonsense midfielder. Spurs hearts were in mouths when the Dane went down with a twisted ankle at the death and will hope it's nothing serious. Reuters

Tanguy Ndombele - 8. His ball around the corner set Spurs in motion to score their fourth goal. The Frenchman was pure class. EPA

Lucas Moura - 7. Always wanting to get on the ball and never gave Burnley's defence a minute's rest before making way for Dele Alli in the second half. Scored his third goal in four games. EPA

Gareth Bale - 10. Couldn't have started the match any better when tapping home the opening goal after 68 seconds. He added a second later in the game and also floated the perfect pass to release Kane for Spurs' second. But if one moment summed up Bale's day it was the sight of him burning past Westwood after giving the Burnley midfielder a 10-yard head start. Looked like the Bale of old. EPA

Son Heung-min - 7. The South Korean should come with a warning sign when he's in this type of mood. Two assists and will be kicking his partner in crime Harry Kane for not converting a late chance he served on a gold platter. AFP

Harry Kane - 8. Had to be content with a supporting role as Bale stole the show. Should have added a fifth Tottenham goal late on. EPA

SUB: Dele Alli - 6. Backed up his impressive performance against Wolfsberger with a lively cameo. Reuters

SUB: Erik Lamela - 5. Given the unenviable task of replacing Bale. Steady if unspectacular. EPA

SUB: Matt Doherty - N/A. Brought on after Aurier pulled up with a slight knock. Reuters

BURNLEY RATINGS: Nick Pope - 5. Conceded Burnley's fastest goal in the Premier League. Things didn't get much better for the England international after that. EPA

Matthew Lowton - 6. Looked up for it after Burnley conceded the early goal but like the rest of his teammates faded badly in the second half. Reuters

James Tarkowski - 6. Was unfortunate to see Kane's shot take a deflection off him to deceive Pope for Spurs' second. AFP

Ben Mee - 6. Some important interceptions but switched off as Bale scored in the first minute. Reuters

Charlie Taylor - 5. Was horribly exposed by Bale time and again but in fairness was offered little protection by those around him. Reuters

Josh Brownhill - 5. A hopeless lunge at intercepting Bale's ball over the top summed up the Burnely midfielder's day. Reuters

Jack Cork - 5. Found the going tough up against Ndombele and Co in the middle of the park. Not one of his better games. EPA

Ashley Westwood - 6. Never threw in the towel despite being under the cosh for 90 minutes. AFP

Dwight McNeil - 7. Has wonderful skill and running ability with the ball as evidenced by a few well-worked escape plans from tight spaces. Operating on a different frequency to his Burnley teammates most of the time. AFP

Matej Vydra - 5. Had Burnley's only attempt on goal that was easily gobbled up by Lloris. Otherwise got no joy at all out of the Spurs defence before being replaced on 73 minutes. Reuters

Jay Rodriguez - 4. Had a chance to pull the trigger soon after Spurs' opener but eventually ran the ball out of play. Didn't have the same chemistry with Vydra he shows with Wood as his strike partner. AFP

SUB: Chris Wood - 4. Barely touched the ball after replacing Vydra on 73 minutes. AFP

SUBS: Dale Stephens and Lewis Richardson - N/A. Sean Dyche (pictured) had few options to turn to on his bench but did end up giving 18-year-old midfielder Richardson his Premier League debut. EPA

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While Spurs – currently eighth in the table six points behind fourth-place West Ham – are looking to push thmselves back towards a Champions League spot, opponents Fulham also have their eyes on moving up the table.

The Cottagers have lost just once in the past eight games, moving within striking distance of safety, just three points behind Newcastle and Brighton heading into the next round of fixtures.

Parker, though, will not allow any attention to wander to what might transpire elsewhere over their final 12 games.

"Never am I looking at a league table and that will be my stance through to the end of the season," Parker said.

"We got to this point we are now by concentrating on us and what we need to do. Our sole focus is us.

"The energy you lose from worrying about the what-ifs is really negative and it can sink you.

"I cant afford to watch a game the night before our game hoping for something to happen or it doesn't happen, then my performance levels drop as a coach of the team."