Ben Williams believes the youth of Barnsley’s squad will be a positive rather than a drawback in the Championship.
The 20-year-old sat out the first three games but returned to the side this week for the home draw with Charlton and the away loss to Birmingham City.
He was joined in the back four by Toby Sibbick, also 20, and 21-year-old centre-backs Mads Andersen and Bambo Diaby while the squad’s average age is 22.
Williams told the Chronicle: “We are all young players and we learn each week. It’s the first season in the Championship for a lot of us. It’s not a case of being too young. If anything it just spurs us on even more with the hunger and determination it brings to the squad.”
Williams was the third left-back used this season after Dimitri Cavare and Dani Pinillos. He said: “It’s good to be back playing. There is a lot of healthy competition but, when you have the shirt, it’s yours to keep hold of.”
Williams made his home debut against Luton Town, tomorrow’s visitors, last season and could come up against his former Reds team-mate George Moncur – one of eight ex-Barnsley players in Luton’s squad.
He said: “I have good memories of it, we won the game against a team who won the league in the end. It was a big moment for me. George last season was a really good lad and a joker. Everyone is looking forward to coming up against a few of our former team-mates. We’re very much looking forward to the game. I wouldn’t say there is extra pressure this early on the season, but a win would take us up a lot of places in the table. With our home form, and off the back of last season, we go into the game with a lot of hope and confidence.”
Williams was called up for the Wales national team this summer but did not play. He said: “I only had about ten days off in the pre-season but it was good. Getting my first call-up was a really good experience. “To get recognition from someone like Ryan Giggs gave me a massive boost.”
