Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale said he struggled in his first year in Spain due to a lack of a pre-season Reuters

Gareth Bale believes Real Madrid supporters will finally see the best of him in his second season in La Liga.

The midfielder admitted his lack of pre-season training before his debut campaign in Spain made it harder for him to adapt to playing for the Champions League holders.

The Wales star missed all Real Madrid's pre-season fixtures last year as he didn't complete his move - for a world record fee of £86m - to the Spanish giants until the penultimate day of the summer transfer window.

And even though Bale finished the season on a high, scoring crucial goals in both Champions League and Copa del Rey finals, he suffered criticism during the first part of the campaign after he made just five appearances in the first two months due to minor injuries.

Now Bale is involved in pre-season training with the Real Madrid squad and he hopes it will help him to be more consistent when the new season begins.

"My adaptation last season was difficult because I didn't have a pre-season," Bale was quoted by news site AS.

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"I want to improve each season: give more assists, score more... I want to improve everything.

"This season, I feel like I'm training well. Hopefully the preparation helps us achieve our objectives this season.

"When you first arrive, it's hard. But a lot of the players speak English and that was useful for me. It was a huge change. It took a while but with time I'm feeling good.

"Obviously it's hard to adapt. The first is to get on the pitch and find a place to play. Then put down roots in the city. The club helped me a lot."

Questioned about Real Madrid targets for the forthcoming season, he said: "Last season, we won the Champions League and hopefully we can repeat it.

"To be involved in six trophies in a season is obviously great. We want to be going into every single one and trying to win them, and obviously there's a special touch on it for the [UEFA] Super Cup being in my hometown in Cardiff, which I'm looking forward to. Hopefully we can do the job and get the trophy."

Furthermore, Bale expressed his delight for new arrival James Rodriguez, after Real Madrid paid a reported fee of £63m to Monaco to secure his services.

"He's shown that he's a great player," said Bale. "When someone comes to Madrid, they join the best in the world. I hope James can do what he did at the World Cup with us."