Jan readies himself for Hungary stint
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams is getting ready for a season of Second Division football in Hungary.
Following two weeks of preseason training with English club Sheffield United, the former St Anthony’s College goalie decided to take up a one-year deal with Ferencvaros FC, a club which Sheffield recently took over with the aim of guiding them to the First Division and establishing a feeder system.
The former W Connection custodian completed two weeks of preseason training with Sheffield before being sent to Hungary.
“I did the two weeks of preseason at Sheffield and things were looking up. They were on the verge of signing me. I made the necessary appearances to get the work permit but then there was another block. Unfortunately we (Trinidad and Tobago) are currently out of the top 100 on the world rankings and this prevented me from getting the permit to play in England. It was disappointing but I’m confident we will soon be out of that and Sheffield will try to get me again in six months or so,” Williams told TTFF Media.
“Sheffield have also maintained interest in me and a deal is almost guaranteed subject to a work permit in the near future. I've settled really well and my first outing was against Sheffield in a pre-season game last Monday which we narrowly lost 3-2 after having two attempts cleared off the Sheffield goal line in the last few minutes,” Williams continued.
He added there was a lot of interest in his new club with huge turn outs by the fans for the preseason matches thus far. T&T teammates Aaron Downing and Matthew Bartholomew are also at the club trying to get the necessary playing time which could see them make the switch to England as well.
Williams, anxious to wear T&T colours again, said he’s been following the action back home with keen interest.
“I have also been looking at the progress the national team has been making and I think it can only be a plus with the players who have been recalled. I’ve also followed the progress of Marvin (Phillip) and he’s had some great performances in goal in the recent matches. This shows that you can develop and turn your game up a notch once you put your mind to it, even if you are from the Pro League (in T&T). Marvin has definitely shown this and I hope a lot of the players can follow by example,” Williams concluded.
