TEXAS is a long way from home for Owen Coyle. In fact, he has discovered the Lonestar State is a fair distance from just about anywhere.

Sitting in George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Coyle settles down in a bustling departure lounge and contemplates the latest impending journey of an American adventure which has already provided a new outlook to the former St Johnstone, Burnley, Bolton and Wigan manager.

Having checked in for his team’s next flight across the United States before adjusting his watch to a different time zone, he thinks about how his current environment could not be further removed from the life he left behind in the UK and a smile creeps across his face.

For a manager eager to prove himself at the highest level, it’s an altogether different sort of challenge that he is relishing every second of.

Appointed the manager of Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamo since December, Coyle has spent 2015 living the American Dream in one of the world’s fastest growing leagues.

At the heart of a franchise that has success engrained into its ethos despite only being 10 years old – in that time the Orange Crush has won the MLS Cup twice as well as Western and Eastern conference twice each – it has offered the Scot a fresh new outlook as he broadens horizons away from the pressurised goldfish bowl that is the upper echelons of English football.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking his current post was accepted as any sort of stop gap. Just like his current travelling arrangements across the United States, Coyle, along with assistant Sandy Stewart, is in it for the long haul.

“I turned down six or seven jobs because I didn’t think it was the right challenge,” he exclusively told SportTimes of his time out of the game during 2014.

“It’s important that you are working with the right people and Dynamo presented me with that opportunity. It’s everything I was looking for.

“We want to get Dynamo back to where they were. I’ve never been afraid of hard work and I’m going to get in about it.

"I came with a commitment. We are all old enough and wise enough to know things can change quickly, but I came with an ambition to come and sign a three-year contract to help Dynamo carry out a long-term plan that they have put in place.

“Nothing has changed my focus.”

Coyle’s task at the BBCVA Compass Stadium was substantial given he stepped into the shoes of Scot Dominic Kinnear, the club’s only ever manager who departed for San Jose at the end of the 2014 season.

Despite being a key part of Dynamo’s success over the years, last seasons’ eighth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference left the side’s owners looking for fresh direction.

In Coyle they undoubtedly have a man who is not only committed to the cause but someone who has completely bought in to what the MLS is trying to do – ultimately become the biggest, boldest and best league in the world.

Having managed in England, a country which boasts the above tags currently are owned by them, he is well-placed to judge how far football in North America has come and how far it has to go.

He is optimistic at the road ahead.

“The aspiration here will be to make the MLS the biggest league in the world," said Coyle, who has former Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley in his ranks.

“To do that you need to keep improving. I’ve been fortunate to work in the Premier League and I certainly know the quality it brings to the table and the talent.

“But within the US that’s what we are striving to do. That comes with huge financial commitment but it is paying off as the league continues to grow.

“It won’t be too long before the MLS is a major power in world football.”

Having left his post at Wigan in December 2013, Coyle is clearly in love with his life now in the US following 12 months searching for the right route back into football.

Many may believe the path he has chosen is an obscure one, but the 48-year-old explains it is an avenue he was always keen on exploring.

“It’s very different to what I’ve been used to, but I took my English teams from the Premier League and the Championship here for six years in a row on pre-season,” said Coyle, whose side are currently just two points adrift of a play-off place behind LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers.

“Every year I could see football growing over here. The league was getting bigger, the teams were getting better.

“Nearly every club here now has a football-specific stadium. Our place, for example, is only two years old and is a 22,000 all-seater. You could put it in any top league in the world and it wouldn’t look out of place, and that’s now commonplace throughout the MLS.

“The league deserves enormous credit for the infrastructure that they are putting in place. It will stand it in good stead for years to come.”

Naturally, though, there is a downside to living on the other side of the pond.

“I’ve found it refreshing to come out here,” added Coyle.

“It’s nice to be recognised but you have basketball and baseball games here to go to which we love, you have different things you can experience.

“Back home I’m part of a big family so it’s always a wrench when your family are away from you. Even in England when I was a two-and-a-half hour drive away to see my mum or my family. It’s a bit different to fly 10 hours here.

“They have all been over here already but it’s just a bit further away. We knew that’s what we were getting ourselves into but it’s a wonderful challenge that I’m loving every minute of.”