MIKE Williams’ reason to leave Worcester Warriors at the end of the season is not comparable to the departures of promising young players under previous regimes at the club.

That is the view of Warriors’ director of rugby Dean Ryan, who claims young players like Graham Kitchener and Tom Wood left Sixways due to their frustration over playing opportunities and the club’s ambition.

Ryan says powerhouse Williams, who will be joining Leicester Tigers in the summer, is an ambitious player who wants to find out now whether he’s capable of making the grade for the England team.

“I have had a lot of conversations with Mike and, all the way through, it’s been about what is right for him,” said Ryan.

“I felt maybe he could benefit with another year or so here and he would have seen where we are going as a club.

“But he is a young man who really wants to find out whether he can play interna - tional rugby.

“To do that, he’s going to have to play at a top-four club and at a higher level.

“I understand that some people will have to go to find an answer. We don’t want Mike to go and are disappointed but you just have to understand it’s something he has to go and do.

“When everybody has done everything they can and in the right way, you have to wish him luck and hope he gets the things he wants.

“If he doesn’t, then he can come back and we’ll help him get to the highest level.

“At the moment, we have to accept the constant flow isn’t always going to be players coming in.

“There will be people going out. As long as we get the weight of numbers coming in, then we should be able to keep progressing at the rate we are.”

Ryan believes the “frustration” of young players under previous regimes at Sixways drove them to seek opportunities at other clubs.

“I don’t think there is a comparison between Williams’ departure and the reason why people left the club in the past,” he continued.

“I feel people left before because they were frustrated.

“They were potentially frustrated they weren’t becoming better or getting opportunities.

“We are currently a Championship side and it will take us a significant slice of time to get back up into a place where we are creditable and where we are going to be competitive week in, week out in the Premiership.

“If you are an ambitious and competitive individual who wants to play at the highest level, that’s where you want to play at. Whatever Worcester have talked about in the past, they have never been there.”

Ryan added: “For all the people who have gone, and I have sat and talked with all of them, they got frustrated because they never believed the club was heading in the right direction.

“When they talk about people leaving, it was in a very different set of circumstances. I think Mike Williams is just at a different point in time than us.”