Rangers appoint Issame Charai as Philippe Clement's new assistant manager

Rangers have announced the appointment of Issame Charai as the team’s new assistant manager.

The coach has joined manager Philippe Clement’s backroom team following the departure of Andries Ulderink, who has left Ibrox for personal reasons.

Charai moves to Glasgow from French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg and the former striker has also worked at Al-faisaly, Beerschot, Sint-Truidense and OH Leuvens as a coach, as well as managing Morocco’s Under-23 side and guiding them to the Africa Cup of Nations title.

The 43-year-old joins Stephan van der Heyden, Alex Rae, Brian Gilmour and Colin Stewart in the coaching staff at Ibrox.

Charai joins the club as the side are preparing for their Europa League clash with Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, with Rangers hoping for a result that could see them jump into the top eight of the League Phase table and ensure direct qualification for the last 16 of the competition.

The Moroccan-Belgian coach is reported to have been involved in training ahead of the game at Ibrox, as Clement ponders his best side for the challenge.

Rangers have a number of players injured or ineligible for the competition but at his pre-match media conference, the manager was tight-lipped about his selection plans.

“It’s a decisive game, the last game in this phase,” he said.

“So I don’t want to give my Belgian friends all the tools they need to work. I know they will not give me all the tools.

“You guys saw in the training that some guys were back and some guys were doing individual work and the rest we will see tomorrow.

“We’re going to focus on ourselves to go for the three points. That’s always what we try to do.”