Neco Williams eyes beach break after 63-game Nottingham Forest and Wales season

Phil Blanche, Press Association

Neco Williams will head to the beach and have a “few cocktails” after completing a marathon season on Saturday.

Williams will play his 63rd game of the campaign for club and country when Wales meet Romania in a Bucharest friendly.

Add the air miles that Williams has done during Nottingham Forest’s run to the semi-finals of the Europa League, and the 25-year-old full-back has more than earned a well-deserved summer rest.

“It is tiring, but this is what we get paid to do and we enjoy it as well, so I’m happy with that,” he said.

“If I played only a couple of games then I wouldn’t be happy, but to play that amount of games means you’re doing something well.

“It’s physically and mentally tough, but we’re professional enough to deal with what gets put in front of us.

“If that’s games every other few days or the travelling, we’re prepared for that and I’ve enjoyed it.

“I’ll be going straight on holiday, having a few cocktails and putting my feet up on the beach.

“We’ll get a couple of weeks off and then straight back into it.”

Williams was named Forest’s player of the season after making 53 appearances and missing only one Premier League game.

He was also available for all five Wales camps and is set to win his 57th cap at the Steaua Stadium this weekend.

Williams’ importance to the Wales cause was underlined again with a stoppage-time surge and cross that allowed Lewis Koumas to equalise and secure a 1-1 friendly draw against Ghana on Tuesday.

“He’s been waiting for that moment for a while now,” Williams said of the 20-year-old Liverpool striker.

“I’m delighted for Koumy and I’m glad he’s got it. I’m glad I assisted it.

“We had a few chances and on another night we score more goals.

“But we have to take the positives, build on that, and then just focus now on the next one.

“We know our summer record hasn’t been the best, so we want to finish the season off with a win (in Romania).

“The manager (Craig Bellamy) mentions all the time that we never play friendlies and we’ll approach it in the exact same way as if it were a qualifier.

“We want to come away from this camp with a win because we know every game is important.”