STRIKER Andy Williams says hometown club Hereford was the only side he would turn from full-time to part-time football for.

The 36-year-old started out in the Hereford United academy before helping his hometown side win promotion into the Football League.

He left Edgar Street in 2006 and spent his career in the Football League, but with his contract ending at Walsall in July he has return to Hereford.

“Coming back was part of the attraction to be honest and I’m just really excited to get going,” Williams told the club’s website.

“It’s a tricky thing for me personally to go from full-time football to part-time, but I think this is the only club I could do it for. I’m really excited to get going.”

“(Hereford) was the start of my career and some of the best memories I’ve had in my career, I’ve said and maintained that all the way through.

“You can’t really beat scoring for your hometown club and getting them promoted back into the Football League. Life has moved on a little bit now, I’ve got a couple of young boys who I’d like to share some of the memories from back in the day.

“I’m sure they’ll get sick of hearing what I used to do and hopefully what I can still can do.”

Williams returned to Edgar Street with Cheltenham Town for a friendly ahead of the 2021-22 season – scoring twice after helping them to promotion the previous season.

The experienced Football League striker says that the lockdown restrictions helped him to reflect on his career and learn.

He added: “When lockdown hit, a lot sunk home for me and gave me time to reflect which you don’t always get time to in football as it’s so non-stop.

“Since then I’ve added a couple more promotions to the CV and really understood what it takes to win as a team really more than anything and how important that can be.

“I’ve learnt a lot along the way, it’s the dream job but not as easy as you think it’s going to be. There’s a lot of stress mentally, more than you probably appreciate.

“I’m looking forward to sharing some of my views to some of my team-mates here, some of the fans and helping us all here to grow together and hopefully go in the right direction.”

Williams briefly played with Hereford’s new manager Paul Caddis while at Swindon. The striker said that a congratulations message when Caddis was appointed as Hereford manager got them talking about a potential move.

“I sent him a message when he first got the job congratulating him and conversations took off from there,” added Williams.

“He was quite keen to get me back, showing that someone wants you that much was a big draw for me. In the last few years I’ve found it frustrating to be constantly trying to impress people and earn support from them.

“It’s nice that I’ve got a little here before I even get started.”