FORGET about agents and managers, Tom Williams has been given an essential green light for a potential permanent move to Colchester United – from his wife!

The 30-year-old is set to be a free agent in the New Year as both his loan deal at the U’s and his permanent contract at Championship club Bristol City are set to expire at the same time.

And the much-travelled defender has revealed that his wife – former glamour model and ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here’ contestant Nicola McLean – has urged him to get another promotion on his CV with Colchester United.

“My wife asked me the other day ‘what’s it like at Colchester’ and I told her that there is a feeling around the club and the players,” said Williams, who has previously helped Peterborough to successive promotions and been part of Swansea and QPR sides that have been defeated in play-offs.

“I said there is a good buzz and I do get that feeling that it (promotion) could happen.

“She said ‘why don’t you stay (in January) and get another one (promotion)’, and I told her it’s not just down to me.”

Asked whether he would like to stay at Colchester beyond his current loan deal, Williams – who signed a six-month contract with Bristol City in the summer but quickly found himself out of the picture soon after Steve Coppell resigned – added: “Yes, definitely, without a doubt, but it’s down to my agent to find clubs that are interested in me and find out what my options are.

“I’m enjoying playing and training here, it’s a great bunch of lads and the manager is a joy to play for, so it was an easy decision to stay for another month.

“This is an uncertain time for me but I’d say football is in general. Whether you’ve got three weeks left on your contract or three years, you don’t know when you’re going to move on.

“I’ve signed two or three-year deals at clubs in the past and moved after three months, so football is always uncertain.”

He continued: “I’m now at a stage in life where I’m a family man. I’ve got two boys (Rocky and Striker), with the eldest just about to start school so that is important and I have to take that sort of thing into consideration.

“I’ve said before that I still think I can be a Championship player, but you’ve got to play where you are wanted and where you are going to play. I just love playing and when you are winning it’s the best feeling in the world.

“It’s working well here for me at the moment. I’m staying in Colchester for a period during the week and going home (to London) for a period of the week too.

“I know Bristol City have been keeping an eye on me but I don’t think they will be offering me another deal. It means I’ll be looking for a new club in January and at the moment I am keeping my options open.”

Asked about the possibility of a permanent move for Williams in the New Year, Colchester manager John Ward said: “I’ve not asked Tommy and he’s not aksed me, but he’s thoroughly enjoying it here. He’s a good player and we’ll see where it takes us.

“I’m sure he might have more than one offer when his contract expires because he’s good enough to attract that.”

Williams, whose one appearance for Bristol City came in a 2-0 defeat at Ipswich at the start of the season, played for three different Championship clubs in 2009/10 in the form of then parent club Peterborough as well as on loan at QPR and Preston.

He has featured eight times for the U’s so far this campaign and is set to start against Yeovil today, however, he will then face competition at left-back from the returning Marc Tierney as of next week.

– For full match preview of Colchester United v Yeovil see today’s EADT, for live match updates follow Stuart_Watson on www.twitter.com.