In Naismith’s words, “world class facilities which are purpose-built for football”.
That might sound like the bare minimum, but as he scoured around for the ideal spot, the former international found many were tailored for NFL, basketball or baseball teams.
“You’re actually having to compromise a wee bit on the actual facilities at some places,” he explained.
“But in Charlotte, they’ve got the latest technology and recovery. The layout of these are all very much equipped for what we want, what we expect and what the players want day-to-day at their clubs.”
Dicker, who played and coached at Brighton, said the club’s training ground was one of the most impressive aspects when he made the move across the pond in 2024.
“We’ve got four grass pitches, a full-size astro pitch and another nine-aside astro,” he told the BBC.
“From multiple buildings, meeting rooms, the auditorium, gyms and the canteen, we’ve got everything pretty close but also in completely separate buildings.
“Real Madrid have been, Inter Milan were here for the Club World Cup, I think we’ve had four or five ‘big’ clubs come here for pre-season, so it wasn’t a surprise we had a lot of national teams come and look here.
“But we have a decent Scottish connection and I think that helps a lot. There’s a comfort there.
“The gaffer here obviously knows Steve well, I think they know they’ll be looked after quite well. He worked with John McGinn and a few other Scotland players, so having that connection, understanding what teams need and being flexible with it, really helps.”
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