THE clear air at the foot of the magnificent Alps has provided Wrexham defender Mike Williams with some real clarity of thought.
Sparkle for his country this evening and he will send a potent message to Dragons manager Brian Carey.
Williams, who is likely to be in a centre-back role for Wales’ opening under-21 European Championship Group 10 qualifier against France in Grenoble tonight, hasn’t seen first-team action for his club so far this campaign.
The player has, though, racked up 48 senior Wrexham matches – it’s the sort of club statistic that compares favourably with Neal Eardley, David Cotterill, Darcy Blake, Joe Allen and 16-year-old Cardiff City wonder Arron Ramsey.
Derby destroyer Lewin Nyatanga, Cardiff midfielder Joe Ledley, Wolves goal keeper Wayne Hennessy and £10m Tottenham capture Gareth Bale – all under 21 – are already established senior Welsh caps.
Williams, 20, admits: “There is a bit of frustration because I played a lot of games under the previous Wrexham manager Denis Smith. I haven’t even been making the bench recently.
“In football you’re never too far away from turning things around, of course – a couple of injuries and suspensions and situations alter in an instant. But it’s true, this Wales international does hold a double importance for me – I need the chance to do well for my country and show the gaffer (Carey) what I’m capable of doing.”
Williams added: “We have to believe that we can go through and do well in this group – there wouldn’t be any point in just turning out to make the numbers up.
“We showed what we could do when we beat Sweden 4-3 last month – I think we made an important statement in Halmstad.”
Meanwhile, Wrexham’s League Two game away to Accrington Stanley has been moved to Friday, October 5.
