After signing a short-term deal with the club, we spoke to Ben Williams following Saturday's debut against Gillingham.
"I'm delighted to be here. It's been a bit of a quick turnaround, really. Got the call in the week and when the opportunity came up, I jumped at it.
"Obviously frustrated with the result on Saturday, but there's an opportunity on Tuesday to put it right.”
Speaking on his career so far, the defender said: “I was at Cheltenham last season for two-and-a-half years.
"I was at Barnsley before that. They sort of gave me a chance, broke through there and yeah, now I find myself here.”
The Blues got their 2024/25 campaign underway in Gillingham on Saturday, where they fell to a 4-1 defeat.
“It was a frustrating one really. It's not obviously the start to the season that we all wanted.
"It was a bit of a weird game. I think the scoreline sort of flattered them a bit, with all respect. Just the timing of the goals sort of killed us really.
“We got ourselves back into the game and then a few quick-fire goals at the end and the game was gone.
"It was a bit of a sticky start for us, obviously going down so early in the game. I actually think we came in at half-time probably the better team. Probably unlucky not to be on level terms.
“Then obviously the goal early in the second-half sort of killed us a little bit. But we did find ourselves back in the game and then, like I say, there was a couple of goals towards the end of the game which sort of killed it really.”
After conceding early in both halves against the Gills, we asked if that's something the squad will be looking to fix throughout this week, Williams stated: “Yeah, if that's something we can eradicate, it gives us a better chance to sort of get something from the game.
"The timings of the goals aren't great, but it's something that we'll be looking to put right tomorrow.”
Ben also provided insight in the post-match conversations, led by Simmo, saying: "He just said, obviously, it was a frustrating start to the season.
"The scoreline obviously doesn't look great from the outside, but there are a few positives to take out of the game and we'll strip it back today. I've watched the game, what we can do better and there's a lot of things to improve on and we'll be looking to do that tomorrow.”
On the opening day, 533 fans made the trip down to Kent, Ben shared his gratitude after making his debut in front of the travelling support: "They were brilliant. Obviously, it's such a long way for them to come and to have that sort of backing.
"It's really, really good. I could hear them on my side in the first-half. They were cheering us on all the way and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about tomorrow.”
The left-sided defender is in contention to make his Brunton Park debut on Tuesday night against Stoke City in the Carabao Cup.
“I'm really looking forward to getting in front of the home fans. It's a big stadium, a great backing and it's something we'll look to use in the season.
"It'll be a tough one. They'll obviously be a good team, Championship side. It'll be a good test, a good run out for the boys and hopefully we can get the win.”
Our newest recruit spoke to us before heading out to training on Monday morning and he explained how he thought the session would look, saying: “I think it'll all be eyes on tomorrow, a little bit of prep, a little bit of shape work, just getting the legs going again after Saturday's game. And yeah, hopefully we can just get a good result tomorrow.”
Following Stoke, United take on Barrow in their first home league fixture of the season on Saturday afternoon.
“I'm really looking forward to that game. It's obviously a big derby. It means a lot to the fans. It means a lot to us as players.
"We'll be definitely looking to get on the front-foot early doors and hopefully come away with a good result.”
Ben has signed a short-term deal, keeping him at the club until January.
When asked about his targets during that period, he said: “I think for starters, it's just about helping the team as much as I can. Obviously, I've been brought in to do a job.
“I'm really looking forward to getting going at this club. It's a really big club and off the back of a disappointing season last season, I'm just going to be doing everything I can to help us get back into the league above.”
