New Portsmouth lucky omen on 'tough' first-team exile - and why he can't have any complaints
The Blues have won all three matches since the defender’s enforced return to the starting XI
Having voted for Terry Devlin as Pompey Players’ Player of the Season, Jordan Williams knows he can have little complaint over his first-team exile.
Now injuries and suspension have intervened, finally providing the former Barnsley man with rare opportunities in John Mousinho’s side - and he has swiftly established himself as a lucky omen.
Yet a gracious Williams admits Devlin has been a worthy right-back successor, even if he has largely found himself on the bench as a consequence.
Restored to the side at left-back in place of the suspended Connor Ogilvie having not started a match for three-and-a-half months, the 26-year-old has subsequently impressed.
Indeed, a third successive match with Williams in the side saw him start at left-back and finish at right-back following injury to Devlin, with Pompey beating Leicester City 1-0.
And with three matches remaining, he can now be expected to stay there.
‘I voted for Terry as my Player of the Season!’
Williams told The News: ‘It has been tough, obviously I’ve wanted to play but credit to the lads in my position, who have played very well. I have to bide my time and be ready when called upon.
‘You can't really complain when someone in my position is doing well, you have to keep plugging away and the chances come. Then hopefully I will take them.
‘I voted for Terry as my player of the season, so that’s not too bad! He has worked so hard to get into the position he is now, so credit to him, he deserves all the praise he gets.
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‘From when I first came in, he has improved massively, defending and attacking-wise. Credit to the boys in my position, they have done very well this year.
‘I spoke about that at the start of the season when I was playing, you have to be on your toes, it’s a very strong position. You want that throughout the team, when something happens to those boys and you get put into the team, the standard doesn’t really drop.’
Season-ending hamstring injury
Devlin was forced off in the 17th minute with a season-ending hamstring injury, just days after being crowned the Players’ Player of the Season at the End of Season Awards Dinner.
That saw Ibane Bowat introduced off the bench to play at left-back, with Williams moving across to fulfil his preferred right-back role.
That takes their tally to 11 points from five matches since the 6-1 humiliation at QPR as a remarkable turnaround in fortunes continues at pace.
‘We hurt a lot’
Williams added: ‘After QPR, We spoke as a team about what we could do better - and everyone in the team has implemented that. We spoke honestly about the defeat, what went wrong and what we can do to make it better.
‘We hurt a lot after QPR and we’ve come back fighting. Credit to the boys, we’ve got the points on the board, we’ve been ruthless as a team, set-pieces have been massive for us.
‘In the middle part of the season, we struggled a bit attacking and defending (from set-pieces), but recently we have done very well defending and attacking-wise over the past few games.
‘We’ve put ourselves into a great position now and hopefully we can get to safety as soon as possible, starting at Coventry on Tuesday night.’