The Swansea City and Wales defender will line up at Newcastle today knowing that the Swans are a different proposition to last year.
It was more than twelve months ago that the Swans went to a side trying to return to the Premier League at the first attempt – they were humbled 4-0 by a Reading side that tore them apart with some ease.ย ย But a change in manager, new personnel and a different steel to the side has meant that the Swans are now a different proposition to that day at the Madejski as Williams explains.
โWe definitely wonโt make that mistake again,โ declared Williams to the Western Mail.
โWe learnt a lot at Reading last year and that game changed the season for us.
โThe benefits of those lessons are all evident this season. We know what to do at Newcastle, we know how to adapt to it and we wonโt let the occasion stop us playing our game.
โWe feel we belong at this level. Last year was a big wake-up and we could see we werenโt out of our depth.
โItโs the same this season and we just feel like we can go anywhere and win.
โObviously St Jamesโ Park will be massive for us and Newcastle are going great at the top of the league, but we think we can beat anyone.
โPlaying a team like Newcastle naturally brings the best out of players.
โWe have watched all their players in the Premiership and we know we have to be on the top of our game.
โIt will be hard to ignore it if we get a result up there,โ he said.
โWe donโt mind climbing the table on the quiet, but it will be interesting if people then start opening their eyes to what we do down here.
โIf we can get something from this game, after the results we have already had, it will show how far we have come.
โWhen we beat West Brom people might have thought it was just them playing badly on the day.
โBut, if we get a result at Newcastle too, they might start to believe we are actually up where we belong in this league. It will make this run look very impressive.
โWhatโs pleasing is that we havenโt conceded many goals and we have done well away from home as well.
โWe were always strong at home last year, but it wasnโt always the same on our travels.
โWe have addressed that and itโs a different story this year.
โI just take it (transfer speculation)ย all as a compliment first and foremost,โ he said. โItโs nice to have people talking about you and it shows that you are doing something right.
โYouโd prefer that than not having anyone speaking about you at all.
โBut I still donโt let it get to me because itโs something I got used to when I was at Stockport.
โIf you let it go to your head then your form might well suffer.
โThat might mean you fall out of favour with your club manager and, if that happens, no-one is talking about you.โ