Tottenham Manager Andre Villas Boas was full of praise for his star performer Gareth Bale as his side secured a 2-1 victory over Southampton.

The first-half goals from Gareth Bale and Clint Dempsey were enough to secure the 3 points as Tottenham withstood a second-half resistance from the Saints.

The Welsh international returned to St Mary’s to the club he left for Spurs and managed to net his side’s opening goal.

In midweek Tottenham had appeared sluggish in a trip to Slovenia in the Europa League against Maribor, but Bale did not travel with the party for that fixture, and his freshness showed.

Bale missed his team’s last Premier League fixture against Chelsea as he had to be with his partner for the birth of his child, but the star returned to lift his side

AVB was quick to hail the star amongst the world’s elite players and admitted that he was extremely impressed with the player’s performance.

“I am extremely happy for him. He is a massive player for the team.

"He is a player that can make a different with small opportunities," AVB said in his post-match press conference.

"He certainly did that [against Southampton] and scored. It was good for him to be back on the scoresheet.

"He is certainly someone we rate very, very highly and can go all the way to becoming one of the best.”

AVB’s Spurs side will be looking to build on this crucial win at White Hart Lane next weekend when they entertain Wigan Athletic.

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