CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Despite Charlotte FC entering just its third year, new manager Dean Smith thinks the club can do more to win.
"It doesn’t matter that the club is in its infancy," Smith said. "We want to be ambitious and we want to be successful.”
Charlotte introduced the 52-year-old longtime English Football League manager as its third head coach in three years on Monday.
And yes, he knows he shares a name with the late, great Tar Heels hoops coach.
"I believe I'm half as successful as he had been during his career then I'll have one a good job," Smith said.
Charlotte fired former coach Christian Lattanzio despite clinching the franchise's first berth in the postseason. “For us qualifying for the playoffs on the last day was not good enough," Charlotte FC President Joe LaBue said Monday.
"People will say it's going to be really tough for a club that's only two years old to go and win the MLS, and already that's my driver," Smith said.
Smith's son plays professionally in the Carolinas, and the new coach already has a vacation home in Myrtle Beach.
In fact, well before he became the club's manager, he took in a match at Bank of America Stadium. He left feeling impressed by the city's support of the team and the atmosphere at the stadium.
“The warmth and that feel never left me," Smith said. “The numbers we get for home games tell you the story of how much they support the football club. Our job is for any opponent who comes to our stadium to dislike it.”
MLS team training kicks off in January.
Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.