Utter the name Rory Delap to most English football fans and the conversation will immediately pivot to long throws and cold, rainy nights in Stoke.
But there was far more to the former Potters star than the various cliches associated with Tony Pulis old side as a player and the 49-year-old has continued to add to his resume as a coach over the past few seasons.
Delap on coaching alongside Keane in Israel and Hungary
Great experiences, Delap tells FourFourTwo. It was a tough job in Israel because of the situation there, but wed both been out of work for quite a while.
They reached out and it was a great opportunity to coach in European competition. Winning the league and cup was something Ill never forget, and again in Hungary when we went there in January.
It was hard to get across the way we wanted to play, to understand the players and staff, but everyone was brilliant. Robbies a great man manager. Im sure hell go on to bigger and better.
Reports emerged in October 2023 that Delap and Keane were forced to hide in a panic room in Tel Aviv during the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
The reports were blown out of proportion, Delaps says. When we first went there, looking at apartments, they said, This is a safe room. Every new building, every shop, cafe or restaurant has one.
When the alarms go off, you go into the safe room for around five or 10 minutes, then come back out and carry on with your day. It was a strange experience, but the players and staff were great with us during that time.
The pair linked up again at Ferencvaros in January and after winning the Hungarian title last season, Delap left the club in the summer.
"It was tough as they had Champions League qualifiers, but Id been away from home for nearly two years and family comes first sometimes, Delap admits.
This family duty means that Rory is now able to watch sons Liam and Finn make their way in the game. Older brother Liam moved to Chelsea in the summer in a �30million move, while Finn is a defender playing at Burton Albion.
Delap has teamed up with bookmaker William Hill for their prediction game Final One Standing this season
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