Issame Charai had only just come in the door at Rangers by the time Philippe Clement was being kicked out of it.
The Belgian-Moroccan coach, 42, was convinced to join Rangers by Philippe Clement after Dutch assistant Andries Ulderink left Ibrox due to unspecified personal reasons.
Having been working in Liam Rosenior’s team at Strasbourg in France up until September, it was a big call to come to Glasgow but things immediately took a sour turn.
Issame Charai was only in the door at Rangers for 24 days before Clement was given his jotters and now the Belgian coach is working in a Rangers backroom staff of club legends.
Speaking for the first time since Clement’s sacking, Charai has been giving his two cents on the entire situation and paid tribute to ‘the best manager in Belgium’.
Issame Charai on Rangers move, Philippe Clement & Barry Ferguson
In an interview with Belgian newspaper GVA, Issame Charai has explained why he was brought into Rangers.
There had been some speculation about Rangers viewing Charai as Clement’s long-term successor but it appears the coach came into the club with a specific role.
The move to Rangers was also the chance to work as an assistant to who Charai views as ‘the best Belgian coach’ around, even if that only lasted little over three weeks.
”Philippe had contacted me when Andries Ulderink left at the end of December,” explains Charai. ”That was for personal reasons.
“They didn’t say anything more, so I didn’t ask myself any further questions. After a conversation with Nils Koppen, the Belgian technical director, and then CEO Patrick Stewart, everyone was satisfied.
“In my eyes, Philippe is the best Belgian coach at the moment. He is a highly respected coach who has already won many prizes. I absolutely wanted to work under such a successful coach. Moreover, we are both from Antwerp, which made it easier.”
But all those fun and games ended pretty quickly when things started to turn sour under Philippe Clement at Ibrox.
A Rangers manager shouldn’t survive results like the 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Queen’s Park, a result which ultimately ended the Ibrox side’s hopes of domestic silverware this season.
But, such was Clement’s promise, Rangers clung on before a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren saw the axe finally swing amid swelling pressure from fans.
It was a moment of great uncertainty for Charai, with Rangers relieving several of Clement’s backroom staff of their duties.
“The past period was very hectic”, explains Charai. “Philippe’s dismissal was not easy, it was also a shock for me.
“Nevertheless, the club assured me that they wanted to continue with me. I still have three and a half years of contract here.
“My family also arrived here last week. Because of Philippe’s dismissal, that was also uncertain for a while. But as soon as I got certainty, we simply continued the visa procedures.
“In the meantime, everything is fine, the children have already had their first day of school. Before that, they lived in Rabat in Morocco after my period with the national team. Moving back to Belgium was crazy, because it wasn’t clear where I would be working in the past few months.”
And what about the man who has replaced Philippe Clement in Barry Ferguson?
Issame Charai has given an insight into how Barry handles the role of Rangers manager, suggesting the legendary former Ibrox skipper chooses his words wisely.
The interim Rangers manager is also more than happy to delegate the training ground tasks to his backroom staff.
”Barry is a man of few words, but he is a legend here”, Charai explains. “He has earned his stripes as a player and gets a lot of respect here. He also has confidence in me.
“He involves the assistants in everything and lets me do a lot. Barry is really the gaffer, the manager. He is on the pitch, but the assistants provide the training. Furthermore, there is no real hierarchy among the assistants.”
Issame Charai recommended Hamza Igamane to Rangers
The appointment of Issame Charai also turned a few heads given Rangers’ increasing attachment to Moroccan football.
Hamza Igamane is set for a Morocco call-up after bursting onto the scene at Ibrox following a £1.7m move from local club FAR Rabat (Foot Mercato).
Charai took charge of Igamane during his time as the Morocco U23s manager and when the call came from Clement about the striker’s potential, Issame couldn’t recommend Hamza enough.
The coach is well acquainted with several in the Rangers squad from his time in Belgium – including Nicolas Raskin, Cyriel Dessers and Ianis Hagi – but he certainly has a more personal relationship with Hamza.
Relationships are crucial to Charai’s style, with the coach speaking no fewer than six languages.
“I brought Hamza in from the U23s,” said Charai. “Philippe had also contacted me before Rangers picked him up from Rabat last summer.
“I warmly recommended Hamza. I also have a lot of contact with the Belgian players here, but my quality is to communicate with everyone.
“My knowledge of languages is one of my strengths: I speak Dutch, French, English, Arabic and a little Spanish and German. This is already the fifth country where I have worked.”
Issame Charai has a diverse coaching C.V having worked in Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Morocco, France and now Scotland.
