Ex-Chelsea star on Wayne Rooney the manager, playing under Liam Rosenior and FA Cup dream

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Burton Albion defender Dylan Williams is dreaming of drawing a Premier League giant in the next round of the FA Cup - should the Brewers progress past non-league Boreham Wood on Saturday.

Gary Bowyer's League One side make the trip down to Hertfordshire to take on The Wood, who are flying high at the top end of the National League.

Although 29 places separate the two in the English football pyramid, Boreham Wood are the favourites to beat higher level Burton and reach round four.

However, Williams, 22, is confident and believes it’s a "good opportunity" for Burton to have a real run in the world's oldest cup competition.

"We are all really excited about the FA Cup game coming up," Williams told The Mirror .

"I think it's a good opportunity to get into the fourth round and hopefully face someone in the Premier League which we are excited for and hopefully face a big team. But the task at hand is beating Boreham Wood and getting into the next round."

Burton last reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2011, when they beat Oxford United, Chesterfield and Middlesbrough before losing to Burnley . In fact, that was the only time the Brewers have got to that stage of the competition in the club's 76-year history.

"It's a great incentive," Williams said, when about the prospect of becoming Burton's joint-most successful FA Cup team.

"I think this squad is capable of creating and what we have got in this squad is a lot of experience and a lot of young boys that can step up. We are excited and can't wait to put on a performance and hopefully get through."

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Burton have endured a difficult season so far and sit 21st in League One, winning just seven of their 24 third-tier matches. Although the Brewers find themselves inside the relegation zone, they are, however, just five points off Mansfield in 10th.

Opponents Boreham Wood are having a terrific season in the National League and sit second, two points behind leaders Carlisle United with two games in hand. They have won eight of their last nine matches across all competitions and come into the tie as the form side.

"It's easy to say we are in League One and they are in the National League and say, 'it's an easy game'," Williams admitted.

"But it won't be, these cups provide so many upsets and I am sure Boreham Wood think they can win, it will be a shock for a lot of teams. The task at hand is for us to beat them and just focus on ourselves. We know what we are capable of."

Williams has been at Burton for 18 months now, the first 12 on loan and the last six permanently after signing from Chelsea last summer.

He had started his career at Derby, progressing through the academy before making his debut in 2021. The Shrewsbury-born full-back went on to make nine first appearances for the Rams under Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney .

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Asked what it was like to work with Rooney, who spent just under two years as manager at Derby before leaving in the summer of 2022, Williams said: "It was amazing. He knew how to manage players, he was great with the young lads because he broke into the first-team at Everton so early on, so he knew what was expected.

"He hasn’t managed to kick on as much as he would have liked, but he was great to play under. Whenever I went home to my dad and told him I have trained with the first-team, he would be like, 'it's Wayne Rooney', that was his idol. It was so surreal, and I don't think I understood it at the time how big he was until I got older. But it was great."

Rooney hasn't quite achieved as much as he would have liked in his managerial career so far, having spent time at DC United, Birmingham and Plymouth since his departure from Derby.

"I am quite surprised as he did such a good job under the circumstances at Derby," Williams said. "But I do think the staff he had with him at Derby was excellent, as well.

"He had Liam Rosenior who is now the manager at Chelsea as his assistant. He had Justin [Walker] too. But I am surprised it hasn’t gone as well as he would have liked, but hopefully he can kick on now."

Williams himself left Derby to move to Chelsea in January 2022, but he failed to make a single senior appearance for the Blues before his first move to Burton in the summer of 2024.

On Rosenior's Chelsea appointment, he added: "I spoke to Evo (George Evans) about it this morning because he had Rosenior at Derby as well and we were both saying that his detail and what he put Derby and into the game before playing the opposition, it had to be perfect.