The former US international and Red Bulls star landed his first senior coaching role after replacing the more experienced Swede, Hans Backe.

But, despite his inexperience, Petke, 37, brings an innate understanding of MLS as a former manager of the club's business operations and ex-assistant coach.

And Cahill believes this intimate knowledge of the club and the league gives the young coach the edge over more experienced European options.

“For me, its probably what the team needs, a boss that knows a lot about the team, the infrastructure from the bottom to the top,’’ said Cahill.

“This summer I kept hearing names of European coaches. When asked what I thought about Mike Petke, I was over the moon straightaway.

"It was a no-brainer. It’s hard bringing in European coaches who don’t understand the league."

Red Bulls will be looking to plug the holes in their defence this season after only two other clubs in the Eastern Conference let in more goals than them last year, often conceding early and then chasing the game.

Cahill believes that Petke's defensive background and knowledge will help shore up this glaring weakness in the side.

He added: “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what happened last season.

"The team was really open, messy, there was no stability; whereas now there is stability. There’s Petke, there’s his way of playing.

"There’s a vision of what’s going to happen in the coming years, what we’re going to build to.’"