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Andre Villas-Boas reveals how heart-to-heart with Gareth Bale led to subtle tactical tweak and the Welsh winger's best form for Tottenham... just before that £85m move to Real Madrid

Andre Villas-Boas has revealed how a chat with Gareth Bale during their time working together at Tottenham set the Welshman on track to become a star.

Bale had been at White Hart Lane for six years by this point but was a little out of sorts when he came to visit the Portuguese manager.

Now Villas-Boas has lifted the lid on how the meeting led to a tactical shift that enabled Spurs to see the best of the winger.

Andre Villas-Boas has revealed how a change of formation got the best out of Gareth Bale during the Welsh winger's final season at Tottenham in 2012-13
Bale felt he wasn't performing well but Villas-Boas changed things and his best form returned

'Gareth wasn't feeling that he was unlocking his full potential, he came into my office one day and said: 'Boss, I'm not happy, things are not going well for me,' Villas-Boas recalled to Copa90.