DAVID’SMILES BETTERAFTER HAMBURG
DAVID BATES insists he has arrived back in Scotland a better player.
The 24-year-old penned a three-year deal at Aberdeen just before transfer-deadline day after three years at Hamburg.
Bates now wants to repay the faith Stephen Glass has shown after a long-term pursuit to bring him back from Germany.
He left Rangers in 2018 and made an instant impact under Hamburg coach Christian Titz – only to suffer an injury before his second season there.
By that time Hannes Wolf was in the hotseat and preferred other defensive options. Bates then had loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Cercle Brugge but is in no doubt he returns a much better player than the one who departed these shores.
He said: “I went over there and it was a big change in style.
“Technically I’ve improved a lot and I can read the game better.
“I’ve always said I was a good defender when I was in Scotland, so I wanted to improve my style on the ball. I went over there and learned a lot.
“I learned to play, to step in with the ball.
“The first year was great. I enjoyed it. It was obviously disappointing that we didn’t get promoted. I played most games but that’s football, it happens.
“There was a lot of change at the club. After that happened, almost everyone got cleared out.
“The new regime came in, I was injured in pre-season and things didn’t go to plan that way.
“So, yeah, the first year was great but after that I’ve not been there.”
Bates is now fully focused on Aberdeen and knows if he does well at Pittodrie then the Scotland door can re-open.
The former Rangers stopper won four caps while based in Germany and knows if he can hit the heights with the Dons then it should catch Steve Clarke’s eye again.
Bates said: “First and foremost I have to get into the Aberdeen team and after that it’s about helping us win games.
“I want to concentrate on Aberdeen, do well at club level and things like Scotland can then come after that.
“I was like that at Hamburg, I just concentrated on doing well in club football and the international call-ups came on the back of what I was doing.”