Scotland hero Joe Jordan has seen first-hand how Tottenham and Wales midfielder Gareth Bale has grown in maturity and belief to become one of the top talents in world football.
However, Scotland manager Gordon Strachan could find some encouragement ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Wales next Friday by phoning Jordan and finding out how his QPR team kept the 23-year-old winger quiet amid his goalscoring spree.
Jordan always knew Bale had the ability and athleticism to become a star and as Tottenham assistant manager, he saw the player grow and grow following his hat-trick against Inter Milan in October 2010.
However, with the former Scotland striker and Harry Redknapp now in west London rather than north, they masterminded a goalless draw with Spurs in January before QPR’s recent revival and Bale’s run of 11 goals in nine games.
Jordan, who arrived at White Hart Lane a year after Bale’s £5million move in 2007, said: “Spurs bought Gareth from Southampton for big money and there was a lad who had gone to London at 18 years of age.
“I’m not saying he found it difficult. There was competition there and he had the unfortunate tag of playing in, I think it was, 24 games and not playing in a winning team.
“That is not a good stat to have if you are picking a team. But he got that monkey off his back and it was not just the game he played against Inter Milan in the San Siro where he scores a hat-trick.
“But for anyone to do that, you would wake up the next morning and think ‘I have got something to offer if I can score a hat-trick against the champions of Europe’.
“If you have seen him in the last two or three months, he has taken a responsibility. ”
Jordan added: “It’s not just as a football player, as an athlete he is phenomenal.
“You see Gareth, as he has done unfortunately against Scotland as others, the goals he will score at the end of games. Because as quick and as powerful he is as an athlete, he has an aerobic thing that is second to none he can go and go.
“If your tactic is to mark him and you have got to do it for 90 minutes, you are in for one hell of a hard night.”
Wales squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Scotland and Croatia: Boaz Myhill (West Brom), Lewis Price (Crystal Palace), Owain Fon Williams (Tranmere); Ben Davies (Swansea), James Collins (West Ham), Chris Gunter (Reading), Joel Lynch (Huddersfield), Jazz Richards (Swansea), Sam Ricketts (Bolton), Ashley Williams (Swansea, captain); Joe Allen (Liverpool), Jack Collison (West Ham), Andy King (Leicester), Joe Ledley (Celtic), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), David Vaughan (Sunderland), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace), Gareth Bale (Tottenham); Craig Bellamy (Cardiff), Simon Church (Reading), Steve Morison (Leeds), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Burnley).