CHANGING UP A GEAR
Bates now hoping to close gap on Celtic
DAVID BATES believes Rangers can eat into Celtic’s 11point Premiership advantage if they maintain their Parkhead standard during the second half of the season.
The young defender shone after replacing Bruno Alves 18 minutes into the goalless Old Firm draw that boosted morale at the Ibrox club.
Bates is well aware, however, that strong displays against Celtic, Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts have been crucially undermined by results against teams lower in the table.
Rangers have lost to Hamilton, Dundee, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock since Graeme Murty replaced Pedro Caixinha in October.
And Bates now wants to make Saturday’s showing a benchmark for when the league campaign resumes after the winter break.
‘Definitely,’ said the 21-year-old. ‘You can’t play at that level all the time but we have to defend well, then try to get on the ball, be calm on the ball and try to play our stuff.
‘We just need that bit of consistency about us in the second half of the season. We went on that run of four wins, but we need to get consistency. We have dropped points too easily, especially with home games.
‘All the games are different. Celtic are going to have a lot of the ball, especially at their own place.
‘When you play against Dundee or Hamilton they are going to sit in and try to play on the counter-attack.
‘So it’s a completely different game, but it is something we should get better at because we have taken points from the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs, so maybe we need to do better against the others.’
Asked if bridging the gap was unrealistic, Bates added: ‘I don’t think so, no.
‘That performance shows what we have as a team. We have a lot of injuries too with Kenny (Miller), Graham (Dorrans) and Lee (Wallace) all out. So remember we have a lot of players to come back.’
The sight of captain Alves hobbling towards the tunnel with Saturday’s match still in its infancy could have been a portent of doom for Rangers fans watching on.
Instead, it became the signal for Bates to shine.
Bates headed and cleared. He tackled and covered. And, no less importantly, he listened and listened.
A move to bring in Scotland defender Russell Martin remains under consideration, but there is also evident promise in Bates’ partnership with Danny Wilson that earned a first clean sheet against Celtic since April 2011.
‘It’s difficult coming on at short notice, especially at Celtic Park,’ reflected Bates. ‘I saw Bruno waving across to the bench, so I went out for a warm-up but I didn’t get much of one really.
‘It’s always going to be tougher coming into an Old Firm game. I was glad to get in at half-time, get my breath back and go again.
‘I know Danny really well. I played a lot of games with him last season and again recently. He talks me through the games really well and he’s a great defender. James Tavernier helps me through as well, screaming at me all the time!
‘I’m not sure how bad Bruno’s injury is. I just need to try and get on the pitch and do as well as I can.
‘It’s just about trying to establish yourself. If I get a chance I have to just keep trying to put a performance in and, hopefully, I can get a run of games.’
Bates certainly did his cause no harm. He has the faith of Murty and will retain his place in a squad that may carry a slightly different complexion by the time Rangers return to competitive action in a Scottish Cup tie against Highland League Fraserburgh on January 21.
The Ibrox players head to America on Saturday for warm-weather training ahead of two friendly matches in the Florida Cup. While that happens, director of football Mark Allen will attempt to make progress on several signing targets.
‘We’ve got the break now, we go to Florida and Murts can put his stamp on the team,’ said Bates. ‘It will be a good trip and confidence will be high for the second half of the season.’