Williams happy to complete deal after long wait (From This Is Swindon Town FC)

SWINDON TOWN: Williams happy to complete deal after long wait

6:00am Tuesday 19th June 2012 in Headlines By Sam Morshead

Andy Williams at a press conference at the County Ground on Monday

AFTER several weeks of waiting, Andy Williams was delighted to put six months of speculation to bed and sign for Swindon Town.

The former Yeovil striker, who has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Robins, admitted that he has known of interest in him from Paolo Di Canio and Swindon since January.

And after the 25-year-old turned down the offer of a new contract at Huish Park at the end of last season, the path was clear for him to sign on at the County Ground.

However, Williams explained that the whole process was a little more complicated than that, despite his name being so heavily linked with Town for the past four weeks.

“I’ve heard of (Di Canio’s) interest since January and nothing really kicked off then, and then once the season finished I was aware that the interest was still there - which was nice. But it’s taken a good few months to get things sorted,” he said.

“In football, when you’re out of contract in the off-season there’s various times when you’re not allowed to speak to people for legal reasons and you have to get permission to talk, and it takes a long time when you’re out of contract. But it was nice today to finally meet the new gaffer and listen to him.”

Contrary to some reports, which claimed that financial motivation was the primary reason behind Williams’ decision to swap Somerset for Swindon, the ex-Bristol Rovers man stressed that he had to take several different factors into account when agreeing to a deal with the Robins.

“Swindon wasn’t the only club that was interested so I took everything into consideration, and I like to think I’ve done that and picked the best option for me and for Swindon Town as well,” he said.

“There was a lot to consider. Different things get printed here, there and everywhere. I had a few offers in the summer and every single one of them was almost identical financially.

“On top of that I had to decide what was best for me as an ambitious person.

“For me this was the best place I could come to further my career, and of course on top of that it’s close to my family home of Hereford, and my wife working in Bristol is not a million miles away, although I’m looking to move a little closer to Swindon if possible.”

Williams’ 17-goal haul for a Yeovil side that finished 17th in League One last term gives Town fans high hopes for the new campaign, but before that comes a Di Canio pre-season and the accompanying fitness drills that the forward has already heard plenty about.

“Obviously there’s a lot of talk about the work ethic here but if we get the promotion off the back of it like we did last year then I’ll be more than happy,” he said.