He said: “Huntsville City is quite unique. Other teams in our league — like Inter Miami Next Pro, for example — will be based at their parent club, using their ground and training facilities.

“But Nashville isn’t just two hours away from Huntsville, it’s in a different state! So the connection is quite distant and it means that Huntsville operates almost like an independent club with the financial backing of Nashville SC.

“We had our own first-class stadium, which holds 6,000 supporters, and we’d get 3,000 or 4,000 fans at every home game. It’s a really professional set-up with a strong staff of coaches, physios, admin staff, analysts, and so on: everything you’d expect from a full-time professional club.

“There’s a squad of 18 to 24 players that includes young development players from Nashville with good potential and aspiring college players, as well as more experienced guys who had maybe been at USL League 1 level. Sometimes first-team players from Nashville would drop down to play too. It was a good mix of youth and experience and I really enjoyed working with the squad and helping with the development of young players. One big difference I noticed was how polite all the kids are – it’s always ‘yes, sir’ or ‘yes, coach’ and they’re really keen to learn.

“I was also quite surprised by the intensity and passion you get in the games, which maybe has something to do with the South American and Hispanic influence. In reserve football in the UK, it can be a bit quiet at times — but in the States, these matches can get really heated. All the games are televised live and the league is really competitive. I loved that aspect of it.

“Technically, the standard of football is very good as well. There is a lot of exciting young talent in America and a lot of money being invested in soccer. It’ll only continue to get better and I’ve got no doubt that America will be a real force in world football in the future.”

Berra, who won 41 caps for Scotland in a glittering career that included spells at Heart of Midlothian, Ipswich Town, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, expects to see that progression bearing fruit on the pitch when the USA hosts the next World Cup in 2026.

He said: “There’s no reason why the US team shouldn’t do well in the World Cup. I know they’ve just had a poor Copa America campaign and the manager Greg Berhalter was sacked after that. But if they get the right manager in, I’m sure they can be a force. There’s a strong squad of players there and most of them play in the top European leagues so there’s no reason they can’t compete with the best at the World Cup.

“One thing’s for sure, they’ll put on a great show. The Americans love their sports and it’s all about entertainment. All the stadiums they’ll use in the States are fantastic and the fans will turn out in big numbers.”

Former Hearts captain Berra, who made 650 first-team appearances in a 20-year career, always planned to switch to a coaching role after hanging up his boots. He achieved his UEFA A Licence while still playing and when he returned to Hearts as a veteran player in 2017, he combined his playing duties with regular coaching sessions in the club’s Academy. A brief spell as player-coach at Raith Rovers followed before he moved to Livingston as a first-team coach.

He said: “Unfortunately, the finances at Livingston weren’t available to keep me on, so I then spent some time working with my old Hearts coach John McGlynn at Falkirk. I also helped with the SFA’s Performance Schools and had the opportunity to work with the Scotland Under 21s, which I really enjoyed. I was involved with the U21s for five qualifying games but it was only on a part-time basis from camp to camp and I wanted a full-time job.

“That’s when the opportunity to move to Alabama came up. It was unbelievable to experience a new culture and environment and although I was only there for six months, I feel like I learned a lot. The spell as Head Coach gave me leadership experience and I enjoyed the challenge of coming up against more experienced managers from South America and Europe.

“It has definitely helped my own development as a coach.”

So too has the fact that Berra played under a host of high-profile and hugely successful managers during two decades in the game, including Craig Levein, Alex McLeish, Mick McCarthy, and Gordon Strachan.

He said: “I was lucky to enjoy a good career as a player. Winning the Scottish Cup with Hearts and the Championship title with Wolves were fantastic highlights: but for me, the biggest moments were representing my country.

“If I had to pick out one match, it would be the World Cup qualifier against England in 2017 when Leigh Griffiths scored those two free-kicks in a 2-2 draw. The build-up to that game was just unbelievable and the atmosphere at Hampden on the day was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Even just going out for the warm-up gave me goosebumps. To represent your country on a day like that was special, and to come so close to winning and then have it snatched away right at the end was heartbreaking. It’s a day that I’ll never forget.

“But football’s given me a lot of great memories and I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of great coaches and managers who helped me along the way. As a coach, I’ve tried to take lessons from all of them, but you’ve got to be your own man and be true to your own principles and ideas. I’m always looking to educate myself and explore different tactical approaches or new trends in the game.

“I feel like I’ve already packed quite a bit in as a coach and now that I’m back in Scotland, I’m hoping to take the next step in my career. I’m completing my Pro Licence and my ambition is to lead a group of players at a forward-thinking, progressive club. There are various pathways to achieving that and I’m open to anything, to be honest, whether that’s first team or Academy level. I do like working with development players, giving them guidance and passing on my experience.

“I could have stayed in the States but as a family, we felt it was a good time to return home. My wife Carla is expecting our second child in the next couple of months and my daughter Olivia is approaching school age, so it seemed the right decision to come back.

“Since we’ve been home, I’ve been around the grounds taking in matches and meeting up with people in the game. As I say, I’m open-minded about what the future holds and I’m just looking forward to the next chapter.”