David Beckham will this week acquaint himself with his new team-mates at LA Galaxy, while Celtic begin the final leg of their pre-season training preparations in Denver and Chicago.

Soccer Stateside has never been more popular, or lucrative, yet Colin Miller has willingly made the return journey across the Atlantic to pursue his own ambitions in the Barclays Premiership. The nomadic Canada internationalist - he counts Rangers, Hearts, Dunfermline, St Johnstone, Ayr United and Hamilton Academical among his many clubs - has been reunited with a formerIbrox reserve partner in the quest to restore Derby County to their former glory.

Miller, born in Lanarkshire 42 years ago but a Canadian in possession of 61 international caps, was announced as assistant first-team coach at Pride Park earlier this month as part of Billy Davies' preparations for life in the Premiership. He joins Craig Brown, the former Scotland manager, as part of a new-look set-up after Stephen Pearson's £50m goal against West Bromwich Albion in the Coca-Cola Championship play-off final sealed the Rams' return to England's top tier.

Brown this week described Miller as the next Billy Davies; lavish praise for one whose playing career was, like Davies', unencumbered by rejection from his boyhood heroes. Miller was last seen on these shores as the ill-fated player/manager of Hamilton Academical when they were relegated to the second division in season 1998/99. Miller, who made his Canadian debut against Scotland in 1983, has since reinvented himself as a coach of feted pedigree at Abbotsford Rangers, who operated in the USL Premier Developmental league, the division below Major League Soccer.

Now, having recommended youth players to Davies during his spell as Preston North End manager, Miller has been recruited to share the coaching responsibilities and assist in opening up the North American market to Derby County.

"Billy always said we would work together but he has become so successful and so absorbed with his work that I didn't really expect it," Miller said. "It will be a great experience to work alongside a guy I think is one of the best young coaches not just in Britain but Europe and, of course, a former Scotland manager in Craig Brown who has vast experience."

Perhaps being released by Rangers in the mid-1980s was no bad thing. Davies has since become one of the most sought-after managers in the game; Miller forged a career in Scottish football and, latterly, an enviable lifestyle in British Columbia. One Gordon Ramsay has become one of the most recognisable and decorated chefs in the food industry.

After resigning from Hamilton, Miller took on a job with Coca-Cola in East Kilbride - "a proper shirt-and-tie job" - before returning to Canada with his family. His work throughout the age groups at Abbotsford quickly enhanced his credentials in a burgeoning soccer environment and, before long, he had graduated to interim head coach of the Canadian national side, eventually partnering Beckham's new boss, Frank Yallop.

Not even a job for life in a football hotbed could prevent him from tackling the Premiership. "I jumped at it, of course," he recalled of the invitation, "but my family are staying in Canada because my kids are at a crucial stage of their schooling and, after being settled over there so long, I know how precarious professional football can be. That's the difficult part of coming over but he Davies works me so hard there's no time for anything else. I will be working with the first team through the week, then scouting opponents in advance. I'll need to brush up on my sense of direction, though, because I have been away from here for so long. The lifestyle in Canada was fantastic and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it but I wanted the thrill of working for a big professional club."

He harbours ambitions of obtaining the UEFA pro-licence to add to his A-licence and Canadian coaching certificate and, ultimately, managing in his own right in what he expects to be an even more colossal MLS when Vancouver and Montreal join the Toronto franchise currently managed by Mo Johnston.

"Even though Hamilton got relegated and I resigned, it was one of the best experiences of my career. I was only 33 then and 42 now and have learned so much in that time and I am still very ambitious," he said. "Canadian football has taken off again with Toronto being accepted into MLS. My old pal Frank Yallop is also in charge of Beckham's new team LA Galaxy and I think it will become huge in Canada when Vancouver and then Montreal get franchises in MLS. The Canadians who slipped through the net can now get caught at the right time and it is an ambition to one day return with my Premiership experience and maybe take charge of one of those teams."

With Brand Beckham arriving in Tinseltown, Miller predicts the former England captain will be surprised by the standard of football, especially with Galaxy languishing second bottom of the division. None the less, he is convinced that Beckham will eclipse the contributions made by Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and George Best in the United States.

"I think Beckham will be the best signing in the history of MLS and indeed American soccer," he said. "Some guys came for a pension before but Beckham will put something back. He is intelligent, marketable and approachable.

"Frank and I were best mates all through our work together with the Canadian FA and he has been very successful, winning the MLS twice with San Jose and will not be intimidated at the prospect of working with David Beckham."

Miller is just as excited at the prospect of working with Davies again after their youth was spent chasing a similar dream. He believes the drive and determination that made Davies such an accomplished, if unheralded, player has pushed him to the forefront of modern management.

"I really rated Billy as a player and feel he could have been a success at Rangers but, for whatever reason, he was not given a chance," Miller recalled. "I was a Rangers supporter since childhood and playing for them was the proudest moment of my career. Being a failure, though, was also my biggest regret.

"Billy ran the show in the reserves and still didn't get a sniff. As a manager, he has that same work ethic. He is the type of manager players want to play for but he doesn't miss anybody, playing squad or coaching staff, if they are not doing the job. He is popular with everyone at the club and treats them all with respect."