sentences:  When Macari was appointed manager of Stoke City in 1991 he appointed Bates as his assistant and the pair worked together at Stoke until October 1993 when they joined Celtic.A year later they returned to Stoke and after Macari left again in May 1997 Bates was surprisingly given the vacancy in the club's first season at the Britannia Stadium.Whilst Bates was a useful and popular coach he was not thought to be a successful manager.