Williams delighted with Wales captaincy

Ashley Williams says the decision to make him Wales captain has given him a confidence boost ahead of the clash against Scotland.

The 28-year-old excelled last season under Brendan Rodgers as Swansea impressed in their debut Premier League season, although the former Stockport defender has admitted to finding the new campaign tougher.

And after Wales manager Chris Coleman took the decision to replace Aaron Ramsey when Wales were crushed 6-1 by Serbia, Williams said that he is happy to get a timely boost in confidence ahead of Friday’s World Cup qualifier.

“I’m pleased to get the captaincy. It’s obviously a great honour and once I meet up with Wales I’ll speak more to the gaffer and know a bit more about what he wants from me,” Williams said.

“It’s a nice little boost for me at a time when things haven’t been going well.

“I’ve captained the team before so it’s no great change. The boys know me and I know them so we’ll go into a massive week and the most important thing, irrespective of who the captain is, is a win – especially in that first game.”

Williams also said that Ramsey bears no grudge towards him after taking his role as captain, and has played down suggestions of tense relations between the pair.

“I haven’t spoken to Aaron yet, but I’ll speak to him at the camp,” he said.

“I know people will talk about it and look into it, but I get on with Aaron well and I’m sure it’s going to be okay. We’ll just get on with it and we won’t probably even speak about the captaincy. It will just be a normal camp.”

Williams is keen to get up and running in his first game as permanent captain, with a clash against Scotland promising to be a tight affair as the Dragons look to improve their qualifying prospects.

“The Scotland game is must-win for us. If we get two positive results in the next two games we’ll still be involved in the group as no-one is really going to run away with it,” he said.

“I think the Scotland game takes care of itself and you’ll see a better performance from us this time.”

Wales welcome Craig Levein’s side to the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday with Coleman looking to secure his first victory after losing their opening Group A games to Belgium and Serbia.

They then travel to Croatia on Tuesday evening.