Euan Williams admitted it’s taken some time to get over the red card on his full debut for Gillingham.

Williams was sent off early in the second half at Swansea after starting the League Cup game back in mid-August, miss-judging a tackle as he slid in for the ball.

A three-game ban was followed by an international call-up for Northern Ireland under-21s and then a slight niggle left him back queuing up for a starting role in Mark Bonner’s team.

Since then, he’s started in the EFL Trophy against Crystal Palace under-21s but had to wait a while before his first-ever Football League appearance, appearing as a substitute away at Bradford on October 19.

In the recent game at Swindon, the 19-year-old made his first start in the league and last weekend earned plenty of plaudits after starting against Blackpool in the FA Cup.

Williams said: “I have probably learnt from that (sending off), it was obviously quite a low point for me. I thought I was actually doing alright in the game as well prior to that.

“It took me a while to get going again because I had international (football) and then I came back and I had a couple of niggles and stuff, so I didn't actually train that much either during that period.

“It's taken me probably another four or five weeks of working to be anywhere close to even being on the bench. For that period, I just stuck to it and eventually the chance came and I think I've taken it.

“The difference from playing and not playing is obviously massive. For me now, it's just focusing on the next game and trying to have as much of an impact as I can on training and in games.

“I like to run forward and play forward. My main focus is getting the ball forward to try and create chances for the team to try and score goals.”

Williams arrived at the Gills after progressing through the youth ranks at Charlton, working under Anthony Hayes, the current Gillingham assistant boss. He’d joined them as a nine-year-old following a few seasons playing grassroots football at his local team Parkwood Rangers, based in Bexley.

The chance to join the Gills made perfect sense for him after being released, just a short journey away from his South London roots.

“Being released (from Charlton) was difficult,” he admitted.

“I thought it was probably coming because I didn't play much last season. I think I was probably ready to step out of that youth environment into a first team, wherever that was.

“When it did happen, I looked here first because I thought this would be the best place for me because it's local. I could still be at home. It's a brilliant club and I knew the aspirations that the club had.

“This was the one that I wanted to come to and luckily it ended up happening.”

Being at Gillingham has given him the chance to make his first senior appearances.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s everything I dreamed of. I'm just enjoying it at the moment.

“Even though results, obviously, haven't been going our way as late but in terms of individual performance and enjoyment, I'm enjoying it.”

Williams’ involvement with the Northern Ireland squad comes as a result of his dad, who was from Bellymena, having previously played junior football for England before making the switch and making his dad proud.

The recent under-21 selection was another positive for him in the early weeks of the season.

He said: “It was brilliant because I know a lot of the boys there who I've gone through the ages with.

“It's just good seeing the level because everyone's at different stages of their careers. There's a lot of boys in League Two, League One, and then there's still some boys in the youth set-ups of clubs. It was just good to see their level and see where everyone's at.”

Next up for the Gills today (Saturday) is a game against Port Vale - the League 2 leaders.

Williams is likely to be involved again, pushing to keep hold of that starting role in defensive midfield.

“We're really looking forward to it,” said the teenager.

“They're a good side and, at the moment, they're top of the league. We have to be at our best to get something from the game.

“I think we're all quietly confident and we're just looking forward to getting out there and getting going.

“We rise to those occasions sometimes. Sometimes the harder it is, the more it draws from us and the better that we play. It'll be interesting to see what happens at the weekend.”