DANNY Williams has urged his Winnington teammates to make a swift start to this Saturday’s derby duel with Northwich.

The Park flanker told the Guardian that the men from Burrows Hill had been taught a harsh lesson during a 32-7 reverse against their neighbours during a previous meeting in January.

And they can ill-afford a repeat.

“They blew us away in the first 20 minutes,” he said.

“We seem to get stronger as games go on, so we need to make sure we’re not adrift going in to the second half this time around.

“I don’t think we were a million miles away from them last season, something the table showed to be true.

“But the derby games are settled by who has a better mind-set more than by who has better players.

“Who wants to win most? If we go into it the right way, we’ll give ourselves a chance.

“The two matches were very different last year. The first one was close, and settled by a bit of individual brilliance.

“The second game ended quickly because we weren’t switched on from the start.”

The 24-year-old has been a regular in Park’s first-team squad the past three seasons after progressing through the junior ranks and then featuring for a strong Colts side.

He says a change in coach, with Roger Pickering replacing Mark Warr since the end of last term, has invigorated the squad.

“I’ve enjoyed pre-season, and it’s not often players say that,” he said.

“There’s been a change in focus – the training sessions are more technical, more focus – and it’s no coincidence that the numbers are higher.

“It’s impossible to say where we’re at in relation to the other teams, and we probably won’t until we’ve played a few games.

“I always feel confident before the first league game, and I do again.

“We’ll be good to watch once we’ve got used to how Roger wants us to do things – it’s completely different to how we’ve played before.”

Park finished fourth in South Lancs/Cheshire Division One last term, their highest placing since 2011.

Can they at least match that this time around?

Williams replied: “We always feel there’s not one team at this level we can’t beat when we perform to our best.

“Even with the changes we’ve made, we won’t be happy if we can’t repeat what we achieved last year.”