If you run a fairground stall and see Ashley Williams coming your way then hide quickly.....

It is not so much the result of a mis spent youth but more a result of a previous employment that leaves Ashley a predator in the fairground stakes as well as a Championship and International defender.

Just twelve months ago, Williams was making his way in the professional game at a League Two club whilst last weekend he made his Championship debut in the same calendar year as he won his first Welsh cap and also made his League Onbe debut whilst winning a League One winners medal in the process.

And with all that behind him you could forgive him for not quite believing what has happened to him and looking back on his past life at Drayton Manor.   Williams told the Evening Post "I did my time there

"I had a few odd jobs, although my main focus was on going to the gym every day and keeping my fitness levels up so that I'd be ready if the chance came to go into full-time football.

"Working at Drayton Manor was one of the most enjoyable jobs I did.

"I worked on the games - throwing things through hoops, the coconut shy and all sorts of other things like that.

"I had to explain how the games worked to people, take their money and let them have a go.

"Then I had to try to keep them coming back, even though it was obvious they wouldn't win.

"It wasn't impossible to win - every game had a trick to it and we knew them all.

"I can still do a few of them now and it's fair to say we've got a few teddies about the place at home.

"Sometimes I do have to pinch myself," he admits.

"Whether it's looking around at the other players in the Wales squad or coming up against clubs like Charlton in the Championship, it can feel a bit strange.

"But I never gave up hope of playing at this level even when I was at Hednesford.

"Obviously it all seemed pretty far away at the time and I couldn't really see how I was going to get there.

"But I knew if I kept working hard it might happen and, fortunately for me, it did.

"The quality of forwards in this league is phenomenal," reckons Williams.

"I think half of the strikers we'll come up against this season could play in the Premier League and every week is going to be a massive challenge.

"The key is going to be stopping them getting chances, because if they get them they will put them away."

Photo: Action Images

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