'It's not about me!' - Bale desperate to help Tottenham secure Champions League place

26-Feb-2013 5:40:00 AM

The 23-year-old's double - the second a stunning long-range last-minute winner - has lifted Spurs into third place above Chelsea with the north London derby to come on Sunday

Gareth Bale has insisted his individual performances will not overshadow Tottenham's bid to secure Champions League qualification this season.

The winger scored a stunning winner from nearly 30 yards in the final minute of normal time as his seventh and eighth goal in his previous six games lifted the north London side to a 3-2 win and into third place in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old was, however, modest about his own contributions of late and insisted the most important aim was for the team to secure a return to the Champions League.

"I'm just enjoying the football. The team's playing well which makes things easier. But it's not about me it's about the team," Bale told Sky Sports.

"We know it’s going to be a massive game, they are a great team. We obviously want to get the three points to keep our Champions League hopes alive.

"Yeah, it was a massive victory for us. We knew the result for us yesterday, we knew we had a massive chance to get into third, which obviously gives us more of a cushion.”

Bale gave his side a 13th-minute lead, before an Andy Carroll penalty and neat finish from Joe Cole turned the game on its head.

However, with Jussi Jaaskelainen in impressive form, Spurs were thwarted time and time again before Gylfi Sigurdsson scrambled home an equaliser for his first Premier League goal for the club and Bale’s last-gasp winner.

And the Welshman believes his side were good value for the win, despite its dramatic nature: "It was a hard performance out there but I thought we deserved the victory.

"We had a lot of chances, especially off corners. Caulks [Steven Caulker] had a few chances, one went on the post, Ade [Emmanuel Adebayor] had an easy one. The important thing was we got the three points.

"We know what we're capable of. We've got some last-minute winners in the last month. So we're confident and we keep battling until the end."

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