Rangers starlet David Bates admits that it is “scary” to think about the prospect of playing in Europe next season.
The Gers, who returned to the top flight in the 2016/17 campaign, finished the Scottish Premiership season in third spot behind Aberdeen and champions Celtic.
As a result of finishing third in the Scottish Premiership, Rangers will be playing in the Europa League qualifiers this summer.
And Bates explained that it is “scary” to think about him playing in Europe in the upcoming campaign as Rangers may come up against some of the biggest teams on the continent if they manage to qualify for the group stage of the Europa League.
“I’ve never thought about it that much to be honest”, he told Rangers TV, when asked how excited he is about the prospect of playing in Europe next season.
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“But when you think about it, it’s scary.
“You could play against some of the top sides in Europe if we go through the qualifications and hopefully we will go through.”
Rangers, who snapped up Bates on a development loan deal from Raith Rovers last summer, made the move permanent in January.
During his time at Raith Rovers, the defender was sent on loan to then Scottish League Two outfit East Stirlingshire in 2015, with the 20-year-old labelling his journey from the lower tiers of Scottish football to one of the biggest clubs in the country “crazy”.
“Two-and-a-half-years ago I was at East Stirlingshire in League Two”, he continued.
“And now I’m playing at Rangers.
“Yes it [the journey] has been crazy.”
Bates has thus far made eight senior appearances in all competitions for Rangers.
