Considered approach ends with berth at Ibrox

The Paris-born defender has been a professional for four years since Southend United gave him his break, allowing him to turn his back on a career in teaching. A number of red cards, however, blot his copybook.

He once attracted the ire of Paul Sturrock, the then Southend manager, for taking the train home from an FA Cup tie at Oldham Athletic after falling out with team-mates, and his route to Rangers has been somewhat unorthodox. But a series of eye-catching performances during pre-season have, though, convinced manager Ally McCoist he was worthy of a two-year contract. He can make his competitive debut once their registration ban is lifted on September 1.

Mohsni said: "I don't take losing well. It doesn't matter if I have a good game. If the team plays badly, I am always disappointed. Some players say you have to be selfish but I'm not. I always think about what I did wrong in the game and try to do better next time. The problem with my temper started when I was playing as a striker. You receive a lot of elbows and kicks. In France, the players are protected by referees. In the UK, they just leave it. Sometimes I was getting hit by an elbow or a bad tackle, and nothing was done. But if I did the same tackle, it would be a red card. I was getting frustrated and I started to lose my temper a lot. I realised I had to control it."

Mohsni doesn't come across as an angry man. Instead, the 6ft 3in French-Tunisian is affable, pleasant and has gelled well with his new team-mates. It is something of a surprise that he has ended up at Rangers, though, as the 26-year-old attracted a list of suitors during his time in England. A six-figure transfer to West Ham United fell through last summer, a situation that clearly irked him and ruined his relationship with the Southend hierarchy. After failing to win a permanent contract with Ipswich Town, he became McCoist's eighth signing of the summer.

Mohsni said: "My temper was starting to have an effect on my career. But it's frustrating when you have the opportunity to play in the Premier League and it doesn't happen. The chairman told me the fee and my agent said that was okay for West Ham. But then the chairman changed his mind. It was hard to accept. It could have changed everything. My whole family would have been able to watch me play on TV in the Premier League. I went back to France after my spell at West Ham and everyone was so happy for me. To have to then tell them, 'No', was so frustrating.

"At that point I asked myself, 'Why do I play football?'. I wanted to go to the highest level but when I tried, one person stopped me. I did think about quitting. I was at home when I found out the news. I trained alone and I thought that maybe football wasn't for me. But my family and my agent pushed me. They told me that I had to play football and luckily I have found a good club in Rangers."

Having won over McCoist, Mohnsi is now aiming to win the hearts of the Ibrox crowd and a regular berth in the Rangers rearguard. A friendly at Dundee tonight and another at home to Newcastle United on Tuesday should mean he is not too far off match speed when he is able to competitively take to the field.

He said: "The support from the Rangers fans in pre-season has been unbelievable. In the Bristol [City] and Sheffield [Wednesday] games, I felt like we were at home. The noise was fantastic. It was only the Rangers fans I could hear and it was incredible. The fact I can't play until September is frustrating. It was the only thing that made me hesitate over signing. But the manager told me that we would have friendly games against good opposition and that I'd be match fit. It's only four weeks, so it will be okay. I'm also looking forward to playing Newcastle at Ibrox next week – it will be my first home game."

n Bilel Mohsni was speaking as Rangers promoted their new Puma home kit. Fans who pre-order, have the chance to collect it from a first-team player at the Rangers Megastore on Wednesday August 7