Scotland will fear Bale - Ledley

Joe Ledley believes the presence of Gareth Bale will be enough spook Scotland's defenders in Friday's World Cup qualifier.

Last Updated: 20/03/13 at 07:44 Post Comment   

Bale: Winning fitness race to face Wales

Bale: Winning fitness race to face Wales

Joe Ledley believes the mere presence of Gareth Bale will be enough spook Scotland's defenders in Friday's World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park.

Bale, who has four goals in his last four games for Wales, is expected to be available for the Glasgow clash after picking up a an ankle knock in Tottenham's 1-0 defeat to Fulham on Sunday.

The 23-year-old winger decided the reverse fixture between the sides, scoring a late double to give Wales a 2-1 win and break Scottish hearts.

Ledley, who plies his trade in Scotland with Celtic, believes the memory of that loss in Cardiff will make for some discomfort among the home defence when Bale takes the field.

He said: "I think they will be nervous about playing against him. He is a fantastic player and I think most defenders would be nervous to play up against him because for me he has got everything.

"He is quick and good on the ball and he can deliver a fantastic ball in and finish as well. You got be a bit nervous when someone has got all that ability.

"You just keep giving him the ball and keep playing him in a few times and hopefully he can hurt the Scottish defence."

Wales are seven points off the pace in Group A and facing an uphill battle to reach the 2014 finals.

But Ledley cannot foresee a situation where Wales' lack of success leads Bale to rarely be available for friendly fixtures, as was the case with Ryan Giggs for much of his international career.

"He is a fantastic player and he likes meeting up with everyone and he likes being here," said Ledley.

"One of the main things is that he enjoys it here and it is difficult when you go away with internationals and people get a bit bored, but we have great team bonding here. Gareth is a great lad and I can't see him picking and choosing his games."

Ledley also hopes he will once again be able to enjoy bragging rights over his Celtic team-mates in the Scotland squad.

"I have told them we beat them last time and it was easy, just to wind them up," he said.

"But they have got a totally different manager now so we are looking forward to the challenge of it.

"They are going to be up for it and they will want to improve things for their manager.

"They are really passionate about their football up there and they thought they deserved the three points and are devastated that we beat them."


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