Khano Smith is delighted to have brought his successful team back to Bermuda.

Smith last year guided Rhode Island to the USL Championship Eastern Conference title in his rookie season as a head coach and in the club’s first season of existence but insists there is no pressure this year to emulate his trophy-winning exploits.

“Success is a good thing, but long term we are trying to build something sustainable,” Smith said.

“My aim is to help this club continue to grow and in about two months we’re going to be moving to our own stadium, where it will be nice to continue winning, but I’m not going to judge what happens this year against what happened last year.

“What I really enjoy is building stuff, building a football club and building a team. That’s what I take enjoyment out of, helping players achieve what they want to achieve collectively.

“It’s a fun job and so I really don’t look at it as work. I know I’m privileged and we’re privileged to do what we do. There are a lot of people that would bite their hand off to be in this position, so I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

Despite being general manager as well as head coach, Smith emphasises the collective responsibility of people at Rhode Island as he looks to maintain good results in his second season in charge.

“We kept the core of the team, the players that played the majority of the minutes are all still here,” he said.

“The turnover is pretty normal, I think we kept 16 and that’s pretty normal given the construction of the contracts, but it’s certainly not easy and I don’t do it alone.

“I have a lot of help, with people doing the scouting, assistant coaches and people doing administrative roles. It’s important to know that everybody plays a role in trying to achieve success and it’s easy when you have good people around you.”

Before stepping up to being a head coach, Smith had been an assistant at Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League and Birmingham Legion.

“The pressures of being a leader takes some getting used to,” Smith said.

“Everybody looks to you for answers. Things that you can never prepare for are just some of the situations that come up to test you. Everybody’s experiences are different and there are unique situations but we are human beings. Things come up and they have to be handled as they can affect everyone.

Smith’s love for his country shines through when he speaks and he is pleased to have been able to give an opportunity to two young local players to train with Rhode Island.

“We have two players with us from my former club Dandy Town, Jakari Furbert and Nathan Ntalu,” Smith said.

“I was back home over Christmas and I went to watch them. Jakari played in a game that I watched and I thought he played well, so I asked about him and he’s here with us.

“Nathan has had experience in USL League One, which is the third division and a league below ours. He was just a natural fit and I know he wants to get back to playing professional football.

“I’m trying to help them both out, give them some experience but they have landed well with the group. We’ve all been that new guy joining a club or going on trial and it’s always awkward, so we try to make them feel as welcome as possible.”

Rhode Island finished their campaign on a high but they made a slow start to the season, so a stronger outfit can be expected at Flora Duffy Stadium at 7pm tonight, when Smith’s side take on a Bermuda Select team

“We’re always trying to find ways of improving and getting better but what happened last year was natural,” Smith said.

“Putting 30 people in a room together for the first time and expecting them to gel straight away is probably impossible. We took time to do it but each year is unique and this season will prove another unique challenge.

“Our new stadium will not be ready until the end of March so our first six or seven games are away from home at very difficult places to go. That is something you can’t prepare for but you just do your best to prepare for each game individually.”

Smith is unsure what to expect from the Bermuda team tonight but has a good relationship with national coach Michael Findlay

“We’ve analysed them and we know we’re going to see something a bit different than the usual national team,” Smith said.

“Myself and Michael Findlay communicate every once in a while, trying to see if we can help each other. Bermuda are always right there and we had a breakthrough when Kyle was there and now Michael is trying to break through. Anything I can do to help I will.”