Derrick Williams is aiming to hit the consistent levels he did during his debut season at Ewood Park on Rovers’ return to the Championship.

The full-back won the club’s player of the year award in 2016/17 after a summer move from Bristol City, only for Rovers to be relegated to League One.

Since Tony Mowbray’s arrival in February 2017, Williams has started all but one of Rovers’ league matches and featured 52 times last year.

That saw him rewarded with a new three-year deal, the latest player to commit their future to the club.

And with Rovers playing second tier football once again, Williams hopes it will bring out the best in his game.

He said: “I want to reach the levels I reached when I first came here and do even better than that.

“I’ll set myself goals and will aim to hit those this season.

“I think especially in the Championship, it suits me a lot more. League One is carnage.

“You get fast football in League One, but in the Championship you do get a bit more time on the ball, despite the increase in quality.”

The 25-year-old is confident that Rovers will be able to deal with the step-up in level, pointing to the successes of Millwall and Sheffield United last year as the pair finished in the top half following promotion from the third tier.

Williams added: “We should look to finish in the top half of the division as a minimum. We can assess ourselves when we get to the Christmas period.

“We’ve seen what the likes of Millwall and Sheffield United did last season and we’ll look to do similar.

“We’ll make sure we give it a right good go.”

 Williams made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland against France in May, with team-mate Darragh Lenihan earning the same recognition against the USA. Both will now look to kick on for both club and country after agreeing new deals.

Of the experience, Williams said: “We were roomies and both going through the same thing so it was great to be with him as we get on really well.

“I’ve seen players like Seamus Coleman and it showed me how they carry themselves, how professional they are and how they work. I’ll look to adapt that to my game and hopefully we’ll see a big difference next season.”