Caley Thistle midfielder Ryan Williams is determined to force his way into the Inverness side for Monday’s Scottish Premiership match against Aberdeen and secure a duel with his friend and Dons defender Ash Taylor.
Williams and Taylor both grew up in Merseyside and played together for Welsh team Colwyn Bay in 2009.
The pair have remained in close contact, with Williams following Taylor’s lead in moving to Scotland by joining Caley Jags from Brentford last week.
The 24-year-old was an unused substitute in Inverness’ 2-1 Scottish Cup victory against Motherwell on Saturday but he hopes to be handed his debut against the Dons at Caledonian Stadium and get one over his old friend.
He said: “I’ve always had a bit of a passing interest in the league, so I do always look out for the results. Ash is a mate of mine playing for Aberdeen, so I naturally have a look at the league.
“We grew up together. It’s nice to see him doing well. Hopefully, I’ll be coming up against him which would be good.
“I also used to play for a manager, Greg Strong, who played in Scotland for Motherwell and he always used to tell me how much he loved his time here.
“He went on about one season when he played against Henrik Larsson, and how he scored in every game, apart from when he played against him.”
Williams has a background in Futsal, having played for Tranmere Victoria and Liverpool, and won one cap for England in a 3-2 defeat by Turkey in 2010.
The former Chester City, Rhyl and Morecambe player reckons the experience has helped him.
He added: “When I was 18 or 19 I started playing a bit of Futsal. I was quite fortunate to get called up to the national team, I was the youngest there.
“I really enjoyed it. It was good for my game. Technically, it really brings your game on.
“It’s good to see the growth of the sport, because in the next 10 years kids will start playing that and naturally they will become more technical.
“It will be good for our game. I think Riyad Mahrez at Leicester had a bit of a Futsal experience.
“I just played for fun. I enjoyed it and used to play it alongside football.
“I probably shouldn’t have – I’m not sure if the manager would have been too happy with me playing Saturday and Sunday.
“When you’re that age you just want to play as much as you can.”