McWilliams reflects on 'crazy journey' at Cobblers after signing for Rotherham

McWilliams was out of contract at Sixfields this summer and has opted to sign for the Millers, who were relegated from the Sky Bet Championship last season.

The move brings to an end a long association with the Cobblers for McWilliams, who is a product of the club's Academy.

He made his Cobblers debut from the bench as a 17-year-old in a 1-1 draw at Rochdale back in April 2017.

In total McWilliams made 187 starts for his hometown club as well as making 42 substitute appearances, scoring seven goals.

He felt the time was right for the next chapter in his career as he looks to help Rotherham return to the Championship at the first time of asking.

But McWilliams will never forget the adventure he had with Cobblers.

"It's been a crazy journey, so long but it's gone so quick," the 25-year-old said.

"It's quite hard to explain but when I first came in and jumped on the scene, they took to me so easily and just made everything easier for me on the pitch.

"I can only thank them.

"We've gone through a journey, we've had ups and downs but every game the fans were singing my name so they've been great.

"I can't thank them enough and I'll see them shortly."

McWilliams was offered a new deal by the Cobblers but he opted to leave the club and head for south Yorkshire following talks with Rotherham boss Steve Evans.

"It's been a quick turnaround," McWilliams said.

"I met the gaffer (Evans) in person last week and obviously I've known him before, played against him a couple of times, but we met last week and it was a great chat.

"Things escalated quickly over the weekend and here I am, glad to get it done.

"The season has not long finished so it's nice to be able to get it done early.

"With the gaffer and the people who are here behind the scenes, I'm buzzing to be here.

"The club speaks for itself, it's a massive club and with what happened last year, they're going to want to put things right quickly so it was a no-brainer.

"The gaffer has shown a bit of interest in me in the past two years and when we met he spoke about how he sees me as a player and that sold it to me straight away.

"I've been at Northampton for 10 years so it's been a long stretch and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.

"This next chapter of my book coming from the gaffer (Jon Brady) who is at Northampton, he had a bit of a soft side for me and a lot of belief in me.

"The gaffer here, I think I'm going to get that same relationship and as long as I can perform on the pitch, we can have a good future together."

McWilliams is looking to kick on and take his career to another level at Rotherham.

He told the Millers website: "I've always wanted to play as high as possible and the next step for me is coming here and getting promoted with you guys who want to be promoted straight away.

"The project and how big the club is - it's a great stadium - speaks for itself and I want to be a part of that.

"Usually your prime is 25 to 29 and I'm just hitting that now so I want to show that out there and it's a challenge for me.

"I know how I want to progress so it's about showing it now.

"It's going to be a great move for me and I'm looking forward to it.

"I'm excited because now I can go away, take that stress away from wondering where I'm going to be.

"Having been at Northampton for 10 years, I've always had a home, and I'm looking forward to this being my next home."