Caldwell: Team effort to stop Bale

Scotland skipper Gary Caldwell believes it will take a collective effort if the Dark Blues are to put the shackles on Wales' Gareth Bale.

Last Updated: 21/03/13 at 17:22 Post Comment   

Gary Caldwell: Believes stopping Bale can be done

Gary Caldwell: Believes stopping Bale can be done

Much of the pre-match attention has focused on how Gordon Strachan's men can deal with the considerable threat posed by the 25-goal Tottenham forward when they take on Chris Coleman's side at Hampden on Friday night.

But Wigan defender Caldwell has already been part of a team that has successfully snubbed out the 23-year-old after the Latics escaped White Hart Lane with a surprise 1-0 win back in November.

Ben Watson struck the only goal in that London victory for Roberto Martinez's side but Caldwell insists it was a cautious team-wide approach that was key to keeping the lightning-quick Bale quiet that day - and claims a similar set of tactics will be necessary if Scotland are to do the same.

Asked if it was possible to halt the man who scored both Welsh goals in their 2-1 win over the Scots last October, he said: "It can be done. We went to White Hart Lane with Wigan this year and won 1-0 and we stopped him as a team. That's the key to it.

"He's one of the best in the world when he gets players one-on-one. But as a team, I think we can stop him.

"We have spoken about it as a team this week and gone into detail about how we are going to do that and we will be ready for him."

The column inches generated on Bale have only increased with news that illness and an ankle injury sustained in Spurs' weekend meeting with Fulham had prevented him from training for much of this week.

But Caldwell insists that is a slight to the other players from both sides who could yet play a major part.

He said: "It's pretty disrespectful to the other players. You look at Craig Bellamy, Joe Allen, Ashley Williams - Wales have got top players playing at big clubs in the Premier League.

"Everyone goes on about Bale and rightly so, because he is one of the best players in the world. But we have got players, especially at the top end of the pitch, who can really hurt teams."

Caldwell links up with Strachan once more for the manager's first competitive match following on from their time together with Celtic.

The new boss faces a major challenge if he is to reach the World Cup in Brazil, with the Group A table ominously placing Scotland rock bottom and without a win after four games.

That was the mess left for him by predecessor Craig Levein, a state of affairs which prompted former Wales winger Mickey Thomas to label the current tartan crop the worst in Scotland's history.

Captain Caldwell, though, was not interested in those comments, saying: "I've been part of a few 'worst Scotland team ever' headlines in the past, so that doesn't bother me.

"Friday night will be the judge of how good a team we are and how much we have progressed."

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