Rhys Williams conceded his decision to join ambitious Hyundai A-League club Perth Glory came after he realised his English Premier League dream “wasn’t meant to be”.
The Caltex Socceroos defender has had a dreadful run with injuries over the past few years – back-to-back Achilles tendon ruptures have seen him play just four league matches since the 2013-14 season – and he decided to give up on his dreams in England to join Glory in April.
Now back in his hometown, Williams is excited to be part of Kenny Lowe’s impressive Glory squad and looking forward to making an impact in the A-League.
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“I have come back early – earlier than I wanted to,” Williams told reporters on Thursday.
“I had a plan of playing in the Premier League in England and I realised it wasn’t meant to be.
“I need to get myself going again and with Kenny here and the squad he’s getting together, it’s exciting and I didn’t want to miss out.”
Williams is one of a number of Western Australians that have been lured back to Perth by Lowe, with Adam Taggart, Shane Lowry and Chris Herd joining the club this year.
“It’s great [being home],” he said.
“Obviously, 12 years away from my family, away from here and even though it’s winter, it’s still better than the weather I’ve dealt with [in England].
“It’s good to be back, I’m just excited to get going now.”
With his injury history, Williams avoided making any grand predictions about what he might achieve with Perth or with the Socceroos.
But having watched Glory’s late-season surge last term on English TV, the versatile 27-year-old, who can play across the backline and as a defensive midfielder, is convinced Lowe is steering the club in the right direction.
“Just seeing what they did towards the end of the season, just made the decision [to sign] feel even better,” Williams said.
