A marathon charity bid by Walsall academy boss

And it will be 22 years after he first ran the distance in an organised event in Wolverhampton, when he clocked a time of just over four hours.

Williams was a fresh faced 28-year-old then. This time, the 50-year-old has has a target of four hours 30 minutes for the event on Sunday April 23, where he will be raising funds for Acorns Hospice.

The charity is a long term partner of Walsall, where Williams has been academy manager for the last two years, although he was previously head of coaching and has also worked for Shrewsbury and Wolves.

His busy schedule sees him oversee the development of players of all ages including the likes of Ronan Maher, who has been involved with the first team squad this season.

But the discipline he preaches on and off the pitch with his young charges has seen him apply a similar practice when it comes to training for the race.

He said: “On an average day at the academy the step count is probably around 10,000 but I have been doing big runs of 22 miles, smaller 10k ones as well and I have tried to pick challenging terrains because, obviously, the ground covered in the London Marathon isn’t all flat so it is important to reflect this.

“I remember when I did the Wolverhampton event being slightly disappointed as it was three minutes over four hours but this time I have set a target of four-and-a-half as it is that much more difficult when you are older and the bones are more fragile.

“Acorns Hospice have been great in putting me in touch with other runners who are doing it to raise money for them – we have a What’s App group where we exchange tips and training times, things like that and I hope to meet up with them in London.

“The club have been very supportive, especially with it being one of their nominated charities, Trivela have sponsored me as well as Leigh Pomlett and the players and staff have been encouraging as well.

“I am just happy to be able to do the race and raise money because I had been applying for entry for seven years.”

A Just Giving page has been set up to support Williams, with the total currently standing at £484.Go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Robert-Williams93