Ashley Williams admits that he was shocked to find himself omitted from the starting line up

The Swansea City defender was left out of the Swans 1-0 win against Leicester last weekend although he was a late substitute in the win that lifted the Swans into 4th place in the table.

And now he must wait and see whether he wins his place back against Middlesbrough this weekend or whether he will spend another game as a substitute as the team look to progress their hold on the play off spot.

Speaking to the Evening Post, Williams said "I played every minute last year and I wanted to try to do the same this season

"I guess it was never going to happen, that I was going to have to come out of the team at some point.

"But it was a shock because I've played every game in the league for a long time.

"The gaffer explained his reasons to me the day before the game.

"They should stay between me and him, but I said fair enough. He is the manager and he has to pick the team he thinks is best for that game.

"He felt that was the right team, and the main thing is that we won.

"I want to play every game so of course I'm hoping I'll get back in

"Middlesbrough is another massive game for us and I'm doing everything I can in training to put myself back in contention.

"My toys won't be coming out of the pram or anything like that, because I've had worse to deal with than just missing one game.

"I'm disappointed, obviously, but I think the gaffer would expect that from any player he leaves out.

"I will just get on with things and try to get back in.

"We are where we want to be," Williams said.

"There are a lot of teams, like Palace and Sheffield United, coming into the play-off picture now.

"But we just need to stick together and make sure we don't drift off towards the end of the season."

Photo: Action Images

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