STAYING at Rangers would have been the easy thing to do for David Bates.

The defender proved himself good enough to play for the club he supported. Indeed, he showed up especially well during a time when the lack of cohesion off the park badly affected a team which ended the season with a whimper.

Still, Bates was in form which is why he was offered a four-year deal, complete with a big pay rise, and the simple thing for the Fifer to do was sign on the dotted line and remain at Ibrox.

He's just not that type of guy.

Instead, he opted to join Hamburg, a big name still but one near the bottom of the Bundesliga and, as it transpired, on its way to relegation.

Bates had not a word of German, no friends in the city and at the time of signing no idea which league his new club would be in. However, he took the risk and a bit og heat from Rangers for leaving.

So far it’s worked out, and now he’s about to make his Scotland debut.

“It’s been brilliant, probably the best decision I could have made, as I’m playing at the highest level week in, week out,” said Bates who now comes across with far more confidence compared to the young, shy lad at Rangers.

“For me the Bundesliga 2 is a better league (than Scotland). Every team is competitive and you go away to grounds and it’s a sell-out. You’re up against different types of players and all teams are tactically switched on. I feel like I’m learning so much.

“I’d totally recommend it. To step out of your comfort zone and learn your trade somewhere else is the best thing I could have done. I’ve learned so much on the technical side of things.

"It’s the second league ans that means some teams will go a bit longer, but not as extreme as it can be here. If you let them play, they’ll pass it round you. That’s when you learn when to press and I’ve learned a lot off the two managers I’ve had."

Bates’s story is not dissimilar to the tale of Andy Robertson. Three years ago, while a Raith Rovers player, he was at East Stirling on loan, which was the season that club went out of senior football. Now look at him.

He has only 80 senior matches to his name, which includes his ten so far with Hamburg a one-time European Cup winning club and still one of the biggest names in German football even if recent season have not been kind to them.

“I think that just shows that if you work hard, put the effort in and keep plugging away that sometimes it can work out,” said Bates with some modesty. “You will get that move or you will play at bigger clubs.

"I don’t get too carried away, I always think what I could have done better. I look at my clips and see what I could do better, rather than what I did well. I’ve been at Raith Rovers a few years ago, on loan in League 2 and League 1, then went to Rangers. So it has gone quick.

“East Stirling was my first professional club and you learn a lot down there. All the cute stuff, how to protect yourself when jumping for headers, stuff you probably wouldn’t get away with in Germany.

“Back then, I wouldn’t have thought about what is happening now. I have always just got on with what was in hand. I never really thought about the future – that big jump. No, I would never have thought when I was younger that I would be in Germany playing football. It’s been brilliant.”

Bates is a determined lad. He had it in his mind that should the chance come to move abroad it would be too good an opportunity to turn down.

Sure, working under Steven Gerrard would have been interesting but there is not a hint of regret.

“Rangers were always a big club and they were always going to get a good manager in and eventually get back to playing and doing well in Europe,” said Bates. “I have watched most of their European games this year and they have done well.

“I am a Rangers fan and I think it’s great what they are doing. I’m always sitting there supporting them. I still speak to a couple of the boys and when I was with the under-21s I caught up with Ross McCrorie and roomed with Glenn Middleton the last time. So I am delighted for Rangers.

“Obviously, I am at Hamburg now and have my own career and need to focus on being in Germany and playing my football.”

Scotland supporters will see on Saturday night against Albanian just how far Bates has come in four months with Hamburg. The player himself believes we will see a big difference.

“I have learned a different style of play in Germany,” he said. “It’s not go in behind or kick it maybe longer if you are under pressure.

“It’s more a case of play out from the back and in training you always practise that with the ball. There are very technical players around so they can make that easy for you. So I have come on technically, I would think.

“The training sessions are a lot longer. You put in the hours and work. The language is obviously different so you probably need to tune in more, listen and pick out what you can. Football has its own language, though, so you always know what you have to do in training, for example.”

One thing which has changed is the nickname given to him by the Rangers fans.

“I still get called the Ginger Ramos,” said Bates with a grin. “I was at Rangers when that happened. All the fans used to say it and it was a good laugh. It just stuck.

Even a couple of lads would say it to me in training and stuff. A few boys in Germany say it for a wee joke. It’s just a laugh.”

Bates has a bit to go before him being compared to the Real Madrid captain isn’t a joke. However, he is on his way to being the centre-half Scotland so desperately needs.