Former Norwich City head coach Dean Smith has no regrets at heading to the MLS as he looks to keep Charlotte FC in the play-off mix.

Smith has reached the halfway stage of his first season stateside, with Charlotte FC sixth in the 15-team Eastern Conference ahead of Saturday night’s home game against DC United.

The 53-year-old was dismissed by the Canaries in December 2022 after winning 16 of his 56 games in charge, with many fans critical over his playing style as he failed to keep City in the Premier League following his initial appointment to replace Daniel Farke.

But Smith insists the standard of the MLS is on a par with the Championship.

“I wasn’t sure what the standard would be,” he said. “But it’s probably higher than anyone in the UK might imagine. It is definitely top-ten Championship. I think it is a very under-rated league.

"We know it used to look like a retirement league but we're getting younger players coming over. And (Lionel) Messi is here. When people ask me back home what it is like I have told them it is very enjoyable and interesting and a little bit different.

"People call me 'Coach' and that makes me feel like I'm in high school or something.

"From game to game you don’t have the opposition fans most of the time, and people in the UK were asking me about the road trips for away games. I have actually enjoyed them.

"I remember Frank Lampard saying to me, when he was at New York City, that on the day of the game players are going shopping in the new cities they are visiting. It’s about creating professionalism and the standards you want.”

Aston Villa fan Smith, interviewed recently in the Times, revealed he had congratulated his old club on their Champions League qualification, and was back in the UK earlier this month on family business.

“I messaged both the owners and they came back and said, ‘The process started with you’ which they didn’t have to say,” he said. “I messaged Unai Emery as well. I’m really pleased for everyone there. It’s a big club and I still support them.

“I was able to get back to England, but it was not for a good reason. We had to put our dog, Charlie, a cocker spaniel, down of 14 years. We took him as a pup at seven weeks old and it was tough for the children.

“He has picked a lot of winning teams, more than he knew. We used to walk an awful lot on the morning of a game, and decide who was playing.”