Gareth Bale will put his friendship with Martin Jol to one side on Sunday and look to inflict defeat on the Fulham manager in his first encounter with Tottenham since the Dutchman left White Hart Lane in acrimonious circumstances three years ago.
Tottenham head to Craven Cottage looking to keep up their push for a top-four place by extending their unbeaten Barclays Premier League run to eight matches.
In the home dugout they will find Jol, the man whose three-year spell in north London came to a bitter end in 2007 when he was controversially replaced by Juande Ramos despite clinching two successive fifth-place finishes.
Jol was a popular figure among Spurs fans after his exploits with the club and had it not been for a now infamous bout of food poisoning prior to their final game of the 2005-06 season, the 55-year-old could have brought Champions League football to the club for the first time in their history.
Jol signed Bale from Southampton as a 17-year-old full-back and he has gone on to become one of the best left-sided players in the world.
The two have kept in touch and Bale values the impact Jol made on his career, but that will not stop the Welshman attempting to put one over on his former manager.
"I've spoken to him a few times since he's been away and if we do bump in to each other we will probably have a little chat but the most important thing is concentrate on getting a win from the game so we can keep up with the teams around us," Bale told Spurs TV Online.
"He was a great manager and I think he did amazingly for the club.
"When I first came here he made me feel very welcome and he settled me down very quickly.
"I wish him all the best for the future... apart from Sunday."
Tottenham won for the sixth time in seven games last Sunday when they put in a ruthless display of attacking football to beat QPR 3-1 at White Hart Lane.
Bale was at the heart of the win, following up Rafael van der Vaart's opener to make it 2-0 before scoring late on with a stunning curling strike to seal the win.
Going forward Tottenham played some of their best football of the season and Bale has warned Fulham that the north Londoners are primed to put in another devastating attacking display tomorrow thanks to their recent form.
"You go into games feeling much more confident when on a good run. You're on the front foot rather than the back, so we'll definitely be going out there looking to win the game," Bale said.
"When we're on a winning streak like we are now, there's always a buzz about the place and training is a lot more fun.
"Everybody is buzzing at the moment. We know we're in good form and we know we need to keep it up."
Assistant manager Kevin Bond will be in charge of the team as boss Harry Redknapp continues his recovery from the minor heart procedure he had on Wednesday.
Bond will recall the likes of Bale, Emmanuel Adebayor and Van der Vaart after resting them for this week's Europa League trip to Russia.
Adebayor scored three times in his first two games since signing on loan from Manchester City, but the former Arsenal man has failed to find the net in his last five matches.
William Gallas, who could make his first league appearance of the season on Sunday, is sure the striker will start scoring again soon - and believes the former Togo marksman's goals will be crucial in the club's quest to get back in to the Champions League.
"I knew Adebayor from when we were at Arsenal together and he did a good job there," the Spurs defender said.
"I know he will score a lot of goals this season and maybe that will make the difference between us making the top four and not."
