Penrhyndeudraeth is the perfect fit for boss Iwan Williams
Penrhyndeudraeth’s Iwan Williams has expressed that the club is the ideal fit for him to balance his footballing role with his career outside of the game.
Previously of Chester, Williams was loving life on the coaching staff at the National League North club, along with Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, but the balancing act with his work commitments was a difficult one.
As a result, Williams started a one-to-one coaching system at Penrhyndeudraeth.
With his busy work schedule, Williams insisted that the club is the perfect fit for him with fixtures being played local to him.
“I was a bit in limbo really. I held heavy discussions about a role with a Cymru Premier club, and also loving life at Chester.
“However, I had just been offered a role within Nuclear, which I’d throughout my career been working towards.
“It was literally my dream job, but it meant something had to give as it required me being on site in Hinkley two days a week.
“Nothing is guaranteed in football, so it meant I had to relinquish my commitment to the game.
“However, I did some one-to-one coaching at Penrhyn’s ground, which is my local club and whereby I grew up, and was approached by the board.
“The community had been through some tough times with the tragic loss of one of our best friends and former club chairman.
“With my limited availability of commitment and the games being local, it just fitted in well with my professional life.”
Despite enjoying his time at Penrhyndeudraeth so far, the decision to leave Chester was a difficult one.
Williams revealed that the balance between his career and football was difficult, but has now found a role that he can fully commit to.
“I loved every second of my time at Chester. I was working under two managers who are the most demanding of standards I’ve ever come across.
“I was desperate to stay and thought of ways to work my calendar around their schedule. But I’m someone who likes to put everything into the role.
“Unfortunately I was kidding myself when thinking I could do my day-to-day job as well as coach at Chester.
“However, I’ve loved every second of being at Penrhyn. It’s just made sense. I’ve coached at the top level and had experienced success and failures in doing so.
“I’m now giving something back to Welsh football after receiving so much from the game whilst of course achieving the UEFA Pro Licence.
“More importantly after the tough few years I’ve experienced from a personal point of view, I’m back amongst friends and family and loving every second of it.”
It is a huge weekend for Penrhyndeudraeth, who face Flint Town United in a mouth-watering Welsh Cup tie.
The competition represents some fond memories for Williams after a famous cup run with Caernarfon Town, eventually losing out to Bala Town in the semi-final.
Ahead of a tough test against the Cymru Premier side, the Penrhyn boss has praised the way the squad and the community have come together after a difficult few years for the club.
“The Welsh Cup has always meant a lot to me and that day where we got to the semi-final will be one of my fondest memories throughout, albeit I was suspended!
“We have a great group of players at Penrhyn who are always my friends. They will give everything for me and our football club, which has attracted the community to come back and support us in their droves.”
Opponents Flint Town United have made a positive start to the Cymru Premier season, recording three wins and a loss in their opening four games.
The Silkmen have strengthened over the summer with the arrivals of the likes of Michael Wilde, Danny Harrison, Jack Kenny and Jake Phillips.
Williams expressed that Penrhyn face a tough challenge and will have to be at the top of their game to cause an upset.
“Neil has done a fantastic job at Flint. However, it’s no surprise to me. Everywhere he goes he has an impact and he’s managed to attract two brilliant players in Mike Wilde and Danny Harrison.
“I’ve enjoyed the battles with Gibbo over the years and again hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves.
“We have watched Flint and we will train well ahead of the game. It’s important we go there and enjoy the occasion.
“We’ve performed well against higher league teams thus far this season, and beat them all.
“This is a completely different challenge and one where we will need our players to perform to their maximum to put on a fight.
“Our preparation will be immaculate but we are under no illusions of the magnitude of the game.
“If we manage to cause an upset, it’ll surely be amongst the biggest upsets in the cup’s history.”
