Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale has expressed his approval of Andre Villas-Boas's new formation.

Spurs have been lining up with Jermain Defoe as the lone striker, allowing the Welsh international and Aaron Lennon to attack more.

While the new boss took some criticism at the start of the campaign, Bale believes that Villas-Boas can be a success if given time.

"We're not playing the same formation as last year - it's a different way of playing," Bale told The Daily Mirror. "It's great. You get to attack more, which is always good. You don't have to run too much - although you still have to run back. As long as we're enjoying our football, then we can show what we can do.

"[Villas-Boas] is here to build a team and it's a new way of playing for us. Everybody should understand that it takes time and I think there has been an improvement in every game and you've seen that against Reading.

"I think everybody just has to be patient. As players we're learning different things every day so it's positive for the club. Things will come and it'll start to click like it did against Reading and hopefully we can push on from there."

Spurs earned their first win of the season on Sunday, beating Reading 3-1.