DAVID Bates is confident he can help Rangers extend Moussa Dembele’s barren run in Old Firm games to five at Ibrox on Sunday and record their first Ladbrokes Premiership win over their Glasgow rivals in nearly six years.

Bates, who came off the bench to help Graeme Murty’s men earn a deserved 0-0 at Parkhead back in December, looks certain to start alongside either Bruno Alves or Russell Martin, if he recovers from a back injury, this weekend.

It will be only the second time the 21-year-old has kicked off a game against Brendan Rodgers’s team – he featured in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden last April and was unable to prevent his team from losing 2-0.

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His task will be demanding as he will be in direct opposition to Moussa Dembele - who has scored three goals in his last two games against Aberdeen and Morton to take his tally for the 2017/18 campaign to 12.

However, the French striker has failed to get his name on the scoresheet in the world-famous fixture in his last four appearances in it and the centre half, who successfully nullified the threat posed by Dembele and Leigh Griffths back in December, believes he can keep him at bay once again and help his team beat their opponents in the top tier for the first time since 2012.

“He’s a good player who is featuring at Celtic every week and you have to treat him with respect,” said Bates. “He’s strong with good ability, but you have to try and put your print on him and do what you’re good at week in week out.

“I think I’m capable of doing it, as is any centre-half at the club. Being back in the team for the last 10 games has been great for me. I’ve been playing week in, week out and that’s been a lot of help to me. I feel more confident going into the game and more comfortable in the back four. As a back four, we defend as a unit and we take it from there.”

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He added: “To be honest I felt confident I could go into the team and do a job for the team before the last game against Celtic. I was then called upon in the 15th minute, earlier than I thought it might happen. But luckily enough I did well when I went on.

“It was like any game, I was just looking to make a good first pass, a good first tackle or a good header. That usually sets you up for a good game. The gaffer hadn’t been long in through the door back then at that point and he got a good bit of confidence into the team. He’s also been very good since the winter break as well.

“We’ve seen how good Celtic can be. They made it into the Europa League and did alright in the Champions League, competing against good teams. Celtic on their day are a very good side. We need to respect what they’re good at but also show what we’re good at. We have to stick to the gaffer’s game plan and trust in it too.”

Bates only played alongside Alves for the first time in a competitive match on Sunday when Rangers romped to an emphatic 4-1 triumph over Falkirk in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.

However, he believes he will have no difficulties gelling with the vastly-experienced Portugal defender, who he came on for in the first-half at Parkhead back in December, if Murty names both of them in his starting line-up.

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“I hope to start,” he said. “I hope to be in the team. Just being in the squad, being in the building at Rangers, is incredible at the moment with the buzz about the place and the way the boys are going about the business. We’re scoring goals and playing well so it’s been brilliant.”

“I played in an under-23s game at Bruno and got on well with him. He’s a top class player just like Russell Martin and the boys who have been here before such as Fabio Cardoso and Danny Wilson who are top class players. Playing alongside people who are that good makes it all fine.”

Bates grew up supporting Rangers in his home town of Kirkcaldy, where his professional career started off with a four year stint at Raith Rovers, and admits that attacking players like Chris Burke, Peter Lovenkrands, Nacho Novo and Dado Prso, not defenders, were always his heroes.

He believes the current side have some forwards who youngsters can idolise and revealed that pitting himself against the likes of Jason Cummings and Alfredo Morelos in training at Auchenhowie on a daily basis had brought him on as a defender.

The 6ft 4in player is in no doubt that his side, who have netted 31 goals in the 10 games they have played since the winter break, will carve out opportunities in the final third this weekend.

“When I was young I looked up to great players such as Dado Prso,” he said. “I always liked Chris Burke on the wing because of the ginger hair! There were others such as Nacho Novo and Peter Lovenkrands. These boys were top players.

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“I didn’t look out for defenders as a boy because I was a striker and didn’t think I would end up being one. Obviously there were guys such as Davie Weir at the club who were great. As a 12 year old I was a striker, but when I went to Raith at 15 I was changed into a centre-half.”

Bates added: “I don’t think there’s any doubt we’ll create chances this weekend. We can see it every week, we’re really good going forward. We’ve been conceding a few chances at the back recently, too, but not much. I just think going forward we’re a big threat.

“Our game plan will be the same as usual. We’ll attack as we’re scoring a lot of goals at the moment. I don’t think this game will be any different. I obviously train against our strikers and they’re making me better. If you need to defend one-v-one against someone like Alfredo Morelos or Jason Cummings then you will get better from that.”