Williamson is just glad to be back playing

Feb 4 2010 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

IT is a testament to Chris Hughton’s steady hand that when new arrival Mike Williamson talks of moving to Newcastle United in search of stability, it no longer raises any eyebrows.

After 12 months spent lurching from one crisis to the next, Hughton’s unspectacular but impressive stewardship of United has guided the club out of choppy waters and into the relative calm of a Championship promotion race.

Supporters are yet to embrace the calm Hughton as one of their own, but United’s boss has accrued respect and credibility for ignoring the outside pressures of the Newcastle job and concentrating on one thing – football.

That kind of serenity is not to be under-estimated. Just ask Williamson, who is relishing the focus being on the pitch after enduring a season of perpetual crises at Fratton Park.

United’s state of limbo in the summer meant the 26-year-old opted for Pompey over a then manager-less Newcastle when he left cash-strapped Watford.

However, his Premier League dream turned into a nightmare as Portsmouth’s finances started unravelling.

Denied a chance to make his top-flight debut because of a clause in his contract which would have entitled the Hornets to another chunk of cash, Williamson spent his time on the South Coast playing reserve-team football.

That frustration was compounded by financial constraints which meant Williamson, like the rest of the Portsmouth squad, was consistently paid late amid a flurry of rumours about the club’s imminent financial meltdown.