Luke Williams: Swansea City boss' brutal journey to the Championship and Wrexham phone call

Luke Williams has won four of his 12 matches as Swansea City boss

Following a titanic battle with Wrexham, Luke Williams tasted the ultimate glory with Notts County.

The Magpies beat Chesterfield on penalties in the National League final to join the Dragons in being promoted to League Two last season.

And Williams has opened up on his phone call with Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney after the Wembley showdown.

"They were incredibly gracious," Williams told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"They called me after the play-off final. They spoke to me at length, they're incredibly classy guys, they've transformed that club."

Wrexham clinched the 2022-23 National League title with a record 111 points.

A 3-2 victory - which included a last-gasp Ben Foster penalty save - over Williams' Notts County in April proved to be a pivotal moment in what was a title race for the ages.

But Williams revealed Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney felt Notts County's dramatic end to the campaign was even more of a fairytale story than that of Wrexham's.

"We were in this incredible rivalry, and there were huge stakes for both clubs," Williams explained.

"They never got malicious with anything or tried to derail us, if anything they encouraged us.

"The title race was immense, it became a pressure pot. At one point during the season we won 12 out of 13 and were still only one point clear at the top.

"We had this incredible away game at the end of the season which was kind of winner takes all.

"We missed a penalty in the last 10 seconds, then the guy who missed the penalty scores the winner at Wembley in the promotion final.

"When I was on the phone to Rob and Ryan they said if they had pitched the Notts County season to Disney they would have told them to dial it down a bit.

"It was incredible from start to finish and it culminated with both teams being promoted, I don't think you can get a better documentary to be honest."

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought Wrexham in 2020

Notts County - just like Wrexham - continued to thrive following promotion into the Football League.

However, Williams made the decision to return to Swansea City in January, replacing Michael Duff who was sacked in December.

The Magpies suffered following Williams' exit - with Notts County sitting fifth at the time, although they are now 14th.

Following a tough start amidst a difficult run of fixtures, Swansea have improved of late, taking seven of the last nine points on offer prior to their clash with Bristol City.

But Williams' journey to the Championship was far from smooth.

"Playing finished quite early for me, I suffered a lot of injury problems even after I stopped playing," said Williams, who was on the books of Norwich City and Bristol Rovers.

"Up to my mid-twenties I had five surgeries on my knee, during that period I had to try and make ends meet, pay bills and rent.

"I was dabbling in coaching as a way of getting some money in to pay the bills; I was working several different jobs. Like any working-class guy, you try to get about and pick up work.

"People approached me for more coaching work and that took me to a higher level.

"I then progressed from one level to the next and ended up in the professional game at Brighton.

"I've moved on from there to Swindon, to Bristol City, to MK Dons, to Swansea, Notts County and then back to Swansea."

Now at Swansea, Williams is facing an altogether different challenge on the field.

Despite a recent upturn in form, the Swans sit 15th in the Championship, just five points above the relegation zone.

And Williams believes he must continue to prove his worth to the Swansea faithful as they bid to recover from a poor opening half of the campaign.

"I've got an incredible fanbase and I've got to prove a lot to them and I have to continue working hard," added Williams.

"They've given me an opportunity to be head coach at Swansea City, it's a dream come true."

Luke Williams' full interview on BBC Radio Wales Sport is available here.