Glass delighted to see Bates patience pay off
STEPHEN Glass reckons that David Bates is now beginning to show the form that made him a target for Aberdeen in the summer as the Dons manager looked to stiffen his defence.
Bates, 25, was dogged by injury during his time at SV Hamburg before being loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday then Cercle Brugge as he battled back to fitness.
But he was hampered by the absence of a pre-season buildup and has taken time to settle into his role in the centre of the Aberdeen defence where errors began to show.
Following an outstanding display in the midweek win over Livingston when he scored, however, Glass admitted he knew patience was required until the former Rangers centre-back was up to speed.
“I am pleased for him because he took a lot of stick and he took a lot of criticism from myself internally,” Glass revealed. “It has been brilliant to see his response and his growth. We knew what we were getting when we signed him and that’s why we had to be a little bit patient. It took a little bit longer due to the lack of a pre-season, but it wasn’t something we wanted to highlight.
“If you say it while his performance level is lower it looks like you are making excuses and David didn’t want that. I am delighted for him now especially with the recognition and the goal the other night.”
Glass accepts that St Mirren could make life difficult for his side at Pittodrie today and remembers their last meeting, a 3-2 defeat in Paisley where goalkeeper Joe Lewis had a game he’d like to forget.
“My job is to keep the group level,” Glass added, “and to keep them in a positive mindset. That is the biggest part of the job, keeping everyone focused for the next game. I have not had to keep people calm as there have not been many positives. It is about not letting them get too negative. It is important to be balanced.
“We remember the game and we remember what should have happened.”
Meanwhile, Jim Goodwin has warned his team could end up kicking themselves again if they do not start finding the net.
Saints endured a promising but frustrating campaign last season as they just missed out on the top six on goal difference and lost in both major cup semi-finals.
The Buddies are hovering around mid-table again but a lack of goals is preventing them kicking on.
Saints have only scored one goal in their past five matches and Goodwin said: “We missed out on top six last season – the difference between us and St Johnstone was two goals. I really don’t want to be in that situation again come the split.
“I feel we are a decent team, we are playing good football. Even at the weekend against Hearts we were well on top in the first 45 minutes and at 0-0 we should have managed to take one of the opportunities we had there. We didn’t and that came back to bite us.
“Look, I think as a manager we would be far more concerned if we weren’t getting opportunities at all.
“But the bottom line is, the players need to be a bit more clinical and show a little bit more composure, and somebody needs to put the ball in the back of the net.
“I am not just pointing the finger at the centre-forwards here because we went with, I feel, a really attacking lineup on Wednesday night, very good creative players, very good attacking midfielders, and two strikers up top, and for one reason or another it didn’t come off for us.
“We are getting those opportunities, we are getting in good areas, we had 60-odd crosses into the box over the course of the evening including wide free-kicks and corners.
“So it’s a good thing we are getting in those areas but the bottom line is we need a bit more quality when we do get there.”
I am delighted for him now especially with the recognition and the goal the other night