Paul Williams: Ex-Forest boss joins Swansea City coaching staff

Paul Williams represented England's Under-21s during his playing career

Swansea City have appointed Paul Williams as their assistant manager.

Boss Bob Bradley was seeking an assistant after succeeding Francesco Guidolin in October, and had added Pierre Barrieu to his backroom team.

Williams, 45, was in temporary charge of Nottingham Forest at the end of the 2015-16 season and left in May.

"I am excited to have another guy on the field alongside me and [first team coach] Alan Curtis," American Bradley explained.

"He has done a lot of on-field coaching, and that's what we are looking for."

Williams played in the Premier League as a defender and midfielder for Coventry City and Southampton. He has signed a two-and-a-half year contract at the Liberty Stadium.

He started his playing career at Derby County and also had a spell at Stoke City and was briefly with American outfit Richmond Kickers.

Having moved into coaching he has had experience with Wolves, Aldershot, Southampton, Brentford and England youth teams.

Williams took charge of the England U20s side last year and enjoyed four wins in his five games, against Iran, Nigeria, USA and Germany.

"I am excited about having the chance to work with Paul," said Bradley.

"There have been discussions from the start about adding one more member of staff so that we would have one more coach on the pitch every day.

"The first month here was very busy, but this international break has given us the opportunity to finalise discussions and we are pleased that Paul can join us.

"He gained a lot of Premier League experience in his playing days, while he has also done a lot of good work as a coach.

"For instance, he helped bring through some very good players during his time at Southampton, while everything I have heard about the work he did with England has been positive."

Paul Williams in the dug-out as Nottingham Forest faced rivals Derby County

Williams is confident that Swansea can avoid the drop, despite being joint-bottom of the Premier League.

"Without a shadow of a doubt we can do well this season," he said.

"It has not been an ideal start, but it is in situations like this where you find out about players and about the club.

"It's our job now to dig deep and make sure we can an impact in the Premier League.

"The good thing is that there is still a long way to go in the season. We still have a lot of games in front of us so we have the opportunity to turn things around.

"It's an honour to come and be part of the set-up at Swansea City and I cannot wait to get going."