City move ‘a breath of fresh air’ for Williams

The Wales captain discussed the “enthusiasm” he has felt around the club and had nothing but praise for the City setup, in his first Robins interview.

“Everyone has made me feel more than welcome,” the centre-back told the club website. “The gaffer (Lee Johnson) has been great with me, all the lads have welcomed me in the dressing room and I’m pleased to be here.”

He added: “From what I saw against Derby and in training – having been around the Championship for many years and I got promoted with Swansea - this team has enough in the dressing room to go and do that. There’s a good set of players, nice guys first and foremost with a very organised manager who sets the weeks up brilliantly.

“The performance the other night was my first time seeing the lads perform, they were full of enthusiasm and a very good team.

“I’ve loved it, this has been a breath of fresh air for me, to come and see the enthusiasm, this is quite a young group, as are the staff and I’ve enjoyed every day. The way we work, they way everyone has made me feel welcome from those in the kitchen, media and the lads so I’m really pleased that I’m here.”

Williams, 35, brings a wealth of Premier League and Championship experience and is quickly aiming to be in his best shape to help the team going forward.

“I need a bit of work after missing pre-season,” he said. “I haven’t played since the internationals in the summer but we’ve got a plan and I’ll be working on that over the next couple of weeks.

“I’ve told the gaffer I’m in good shape, I’ve done as much training as I can do so my body fat is good, the power is there as is the strength. Now I just need to do little bits of extra after training and hopefully I’ll be ready to go soon.”