Murty’s praise should leave Rangers fans wondering about Bates’ future

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Glasgow Rangers defender David Bates’ contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the season.

Ahead of Rangers’ Scottish Premiership clash with St Johnstone on Tuesday, Graeme Murty told his pre-match press conference that he had been surprised by the form of David Bates.

Bates has featured in every game for the Gers since coming on as an early substitute during the Old Firm clash with Celtic at the end of December, and has impressed alongside Russell Martin at the heart of the defence. And Murty admitted, in comments reported by the club’s official YouTube channel, that the 21-year-old’s form had taken him aback.

“The surprising thing for me is the performance levels of David Bates. You bring him in against Celtic because we trust him, because we understand the work that he puts in every day, because we understand the improvements that he’s made and he’s performing at a level,” he told Rangers’ official YouTube channel.

“Is he the finished article? No, not yet but he’s doing things that I like, he’s doing things that are improving and getting better and I think that he needs to see from me a degree of trust, a degree of respect for what he’s done. I still think there’s more to come from him.”

Given Murty’s praise for the youngster, it is arguably incredibly surprising that the club are still yet to announce a new deal for the defender with his current contract expiring at the end of the season.

The Scottish Sun reported at the start of the January transfer window that the Light Blues planned to discuss a new deal with the former Raith Rovers man, but nearly two months on, it appears that Bates is still yet to sort the terms on an extension.

It is clear that Murty thinks very highly of the young defender and believes that he has the potential to become a real focal point of the team in the coming years if he continues to develop at his current rate.

It is therefore, somewhat baffling that the Gers are still yet to get that new deal across the line as they must realise that the longer they leave it, and the more of an impression Bates makes, the harder it may become to get him to stay put.