Cape Town - Former SuperSport United goalkeeper Ronwen Williams felt the switch to Mamelodi Sundowns brought back so much excitement to his fading career at the end of last season.
Williams was reflecting on his state of mind at the end of last season when he was no longer enjoying the game.
“I was in a bit of a situation in the last few days (of last season). I was not enjoying football,” Williams said in an interview with Sundowns’ media.
“I was just playing for the sake of playing. The day I signed (for Sundowns) it just brought back so much excitement inside me. I could not wait to start.
“I was very happy, and being part of the champions' team has been amazing.”
The switch to cross-town rivals was surprising because Sundowns had excellent goalkeepers. The general feeling was that the Bafana Bafana No 1 Williams would battle for game time.
However, once he was given a chance, he established himself as the team’s first-choice stop-stopper.
“I was confident in my abilities,” said Williams.
“Speaking to the technical team as well assured me. They did not assure me that I was going to be No 1. They said I need to come and compete, and everyone would get a fair chance.
“When I came here, I received a warm welcome from the team. It helped me to settle in.
“I just knew that once I get going, and I felt comfortable around the players and understand the work that I need to do, they will give me the chance.
"Lucky for me, they did give me the chance. I grabbed it with both hands.”
Williams is looking forward to the new season and is hoping to raise his game to greater heights.
“Here at Mamelodi Sundowns the coaching has taken my game to a different level,” said Williams.
“The way I see the game, the amount of time spent on clips and hours we spend on the field to perfect these build-up schemes, is a testimony of the work done behind the scenes.
“The technical team send us so many video clips to analyse and see how the top teams (in the world) and top players are doing it so that we can try and emulate them.”
On Saturday evening, Williams will be on duty for Bafana Bafana against Morocco in an Afcon qualifier at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (kick-off 5pm).
@Herman_Gibbs