Being angry helps me to play better!
EVERTON’S Ashley Williams has accepted he may have to tone down his aggression for today’s Merseyside derby, even though losing control on the pitch has often helped him perform better.
Williams, 33, has lived up to his reputation as one of the Premier League’s hardest defenders by picking up 14 yellow cards and a red since joining Everton from Swansea in the summer of 2016.
He was also lucky to escape after an apparent stamp on Emre Can in last season’s derby clash at Anfield and sparked a mass brawl against Lyon in October by barging goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
It has left the Wales captain with a big dilemma: how to approach tomorrow’s game against Jurgen Klopp’s side, knowing 21 players have been sent off in trigger-happy league clashes between the clubs ?
‘It’s something that interests me, how you get the best out of yourself. Sometimes when you are out of control, you end up playing a better game I feel,’ he says candidly.
‘But this game, because of the environment you are in, I think you need to be a bit mindful of where you are at emotionally. That’s not just me, that’s for any player. It’s something I have thought about many a time.
‘To try and control things but when there is a fracas or something, and suddenly you’re not thinking but reacting, you can use it in a good way.
‘As an experienced player though, you want to be a bit more in control so that you can use your knowledge. You don’t want to lose yourself in the emotion of the game.
‘There may be a trigger which gives the team a boost. Against Lyon, there was a fracas and we were much better for the next period of the game.’
Everton are already on their
third manager of a season that began with such high hopes. But they go to Anfield with Sam Allardyce in charge having kept two consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League after leaking goals under Ronald Koeman and caretaker David Unsworth.
Williams, whose first derby experience was playing for non-League Hednesford against Stafford Rangers, is relieved about Everton’s recent turnaround in form, though Liverpool’s 7-0 win against Spartak Moscow on Wednesday has helped concentrate the mind.
‘I’ve been able to start watching Match of the Day again because we’ve won,’ he says. ‘But I understand as a defender that facing Liverpool will be one of the toughest games of the season.
‘I’ve played under a lot of managers and I think he [Allardyce] dealt with the first few days really well. He was quite relaxed but, at the same time, stamped his authority on the group. He is an imposing man and he made it clear he was the boss.
‘He has made certain things clear in the way he wants us to play. It’s a matter of going back to basics. It sounds silly but he has just reminded us what you need to do to win games in the Premier League. Keep clean sheets, score the first goal, keep the shape and then tweak the shape a little bit. We just needed someone to come in and take control.’
Wayne Rooney, England’s captain in Allardyce’s only international match in charge, seems to have been rejuvenated and scored a hattrick from a deeper position against West Ham. Ahead of him, Gylfi Sigurdsson, who also played with Williams at Swansea, has shown encouraging signs of form after a poor start to his Goodison career.
Though Williams never felt Everton were in serious relegation trouble, there is a sense of relief about the upturn in results, particularly as he has had to cope with personal criticism over his own form and Wales’ failure to qualify for the World Cup.
‘I don’t think anybody would enjoy it. You just want to internalise yourself and not listen to the rest of the noise because it will affect you in a negative way,’ he says.
‘You try to focus on bettering yourself before you start listening to what experts or anyone else has to say. You don’t want to take the kids into school but at the same time you’ve got to live with it. That is the nature of the job.’
Williams, 33, heard his age being mentioned when Everton were losing. He doesn’t see it as an issue or excuse though for Everton’s struggles so far this season.
‘I think it’s fine if you have a back four of 30-plus. In my opinion anyway, someone else’s might be different but it’s probably because I’m 33!
‘I don’t think it’s a big deal. It is if you aren’t winning games like we weren’t but if we had been I don’t think it would have been mentioned.’