Williams will step out at Wembley in front of 90,000 for Swansea City on Monday – hoping that he can play his part in lifting the Swans into the Premier League for the first time.
But when he does that he thinks back to his roots and remember that he has come a long way in a short period of time – no surprise for a highly rated defender who has captained his country.
He told Wales on Sunday “I’ll always take a step back when it comes to big games and remind myself where it all started,
“There’s going to be something like 90,000 at Wembley – but I don’t forget that it wasn’t long ago a good crowd would be about 500.
“Big games then were the derbies with Stafford Rangers where we’d get 1,000.
“So these are good times to take it all in because every step I take in my career I try and pinch myself to remember where I came from and to enjoy the moment.
“I learned a lot from my time there, not just as a person but as footballer as well.
“I went to watch my mate play in the Tamworth cup final the other day and while I’m not saying I learned a lot from the game, I did remember that football is football wherever you are and the game is the same and that you have to enjoy it.
“My footballing education gave me that and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
“You see things certain young players get away with now and I wouldn’t have been able to do the same.
“I’d get a smack around the ear on not paid.
“I think that experience is evident with me that, even when I’ve played every game, and my legs feel like they’ve been hanging off. I’m just used to getting on with it.
“I like the attitude of the squad at the minute. People know what we’re about by now and we know we’ve learned, grown and evolved together.
“What other people think about us is fine. We’re done moaning about whether we get the credit we feel we deserve or not.
“We’ve had the plaudits but we know we’re not the best team in the world and we know what’s required to do the job.
“A lot of that is down to the gaffer because he keeps us focused by staying focused himself.”
