WHAT a difference 12 months can make.

When the clock struck midnight on January 1 2014, Terras’ fans had no permanent manager to back, they had just seen their side lose 3-0 to Poole Town on Boxing Day, and were craving any stability they could find.

They soon got it, and now, a year on, their side sit joint top of the pile, favourites with the bookmakers to lift the Evo-Stik South-ern Premier Division title going into 2015.

The board appointed goalkeeper Jason Matthews just days into the new year after scooping seven points from his four contests in caretaker charge, giving him no target but to win as many games as possible by the end of the season.

Matthews insisted he was “excited” about the challenge that lay in front of him and acted quickly to re-shape the playing squad.

Having been released by Exeter City on January 7, George Rigg was brought in as a free agent by Matthews, and played a starring role in the 1-0 victory over Corby Town on his debut. Striker Mark Ford’s season took a big blow that day when he suffered a triple break in his foot.

Following that encounter, the new player-manager fielded questions at a fans’ forum for the first time in the hot-seat.

Speaking about his ambitions for Weymouth at that forum, he said: “I see it as a top-eight club in Conference South and I want to take it back there.”

And so the shuffling in the Terras’ squad continued. Danny Clay was released, Nathan Wal-ker was loaned out to Dorchester Town, and Luke Burbidge was approached about a return to Poole, which he made the following month.

But in came Niall Thompson on loan from Torquay United on a month’s loan and midfielder Adam Kelly joined the club from Tiverton Town. Weymouth finished the month in the dark at Bashley, one of Kelly’s former clubs, where the floodlights failed inside the first half of their league clash.

Steve Colwell then joined on non-contract terms dual registered from Plymouth Parkway.

With only 10 senior players to choose from going into their game with Banbury United, Weymouth were also affected by the freak weather conditions during Feb-ruary, which saw the roof of the main turnstile and the club crest ripped off the stand by fierce winds.

Postponements gave the caretaker-boss a bit more time to bring in recruits and the board saw the enthusiasm of their player-manager, giving him the opportunity to take the club into next season.

At the time of the board’s decision, Matthews added: “It is very much a work in progress and all I ask of the supporters is that they stick with me and give me a chance.”

Going into March, Matthews made the decision of awarding Stewart Yetton with the captaincy for his side’s 4-2 loss at home to Chesham United, a role in which he would eventually fulfil on a permanent basis replacing Sam Poole.

Isaac Vassell, who could line up against the Terras on New Year’s Day for Truro City tomorrow, and Jamie Richards then came into the squad for the rest of the season on loan from Plymouth Argyle, and the club won four games on the spin after their arrival. Rigg then committed to Weymouth for the rest of the campaign after being touted by Weston-super-Mare.

Off the field, former chief executive Gary Calder was banned from football for eight years for breaching the FA’s betting rules.

April saw an inexperienced Weymouth squad stutter to the finish line and eventually end their campaign in 12th spot, with chairman Nigel Biddlecombe publically backing Matthews to rebuild for the 2014-15 season.

And so the work began.

One of the first things Matt-hews did was tie down talismanic skipper Yetton on a two-year deal, ending any speculation of him returning to Truro City.

Colwell and Luke Winsper were given another year on non-contract terms, and midfielder Shane Krac was Matthews’ first signing of the summer from Tiverton Town. Jamie Laird also came in from Weston-super-Mare.

While rebuilding the playing staff, off the field the board dropped their objection to Wessex Delivery LLP’s plans to relocate the club to Lodmoor and an Emergency General Meeting was called with shareholders to discuss the issue further.

From that meeting, a majority of 99.6 per cent voted in favour of the club continuing talks with the developers.

Going into June, Matthews continued to add to his squad with the addition of veteran frontman Tim Sills and defender Jake Wannell, and the board met with Wessex Delivery and members of the FA to enter a ‘spirit of partnership’ and work alongside the developers.

The board issued a statement which also indicated that the club would not be involuntarily forced to move.

On the field in July, it was all hands to the pump in a remarkable pre-season campaign.

Craig Laird, father of Jamie and former Weston-super-Mare boss, was appointed as Matthews’ assistant-manager, playmaker Chris Shephard was snapped up as well as Ed Palmer, and Ian White re-launched the Wessex Fantasy Football initiative in a bid to increase the playing budget.

From which, midfielder Chris McPhee made his return and signed on the pitch before a 3-1 friendly win over Torquay, he then vowed to repay the fans that funded the deal with his performances throughout the season.

Youngsters Jamie West and Jordan Copp also penned deals with the club following a pre- season friendly at Portland United.

Into the season proper, and Weymouth made a blistering start to the campaign with a 3-1 home win over Hungerford Town and later in August went on to complete their first victory of the season over Dorchester Town in a 2-0 success, in front of a bumper crowd of 1,509 at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

The Terras were rocked soon after however by the decision of midfielder Krac, who left the club due to mutual consent and signed for Plymouth Parkway.

Off the field, plans for the club’s proposed move to Lodmoor were turned down and the board were left to explore other sites.

Results on the pitch were positive going into September, but boardroom changes were made that eventually saw Nigel Biddle-combe stand down from the role of chairman, after he was unsuccessful in being re-elected for the post.

Former financial director and ex-Dorchester Town chairman Chris Pusgley re-joined the board, and within a month of officially returning to the club, he came into the hot-seat to replace Biddlecombe.

The club’s Supporters’ Assoc-iation also revealed they intended to back the new structure.

And while a 3-0 defeat at struggling Histon took place as the changes were being made, Matt-hews’ troops continued to march on in the league, they brought in loanees Tristan Plummer and Calvin Brooks to bolster their ranks throughout the month.

Meanwhile, the proposed redevelopment of the Bob Lucas Stadium was given the green light, providing the club could find a suitable new home in 2015, a process which is still ongoing.

An agonising FA Cup fourth qualifying round defeat in extra-time then rattled the Terras, as they went down 5-3 at Braintree Town with Chesterfield waiting in the wings in the first round proper.

A derby date with Poole Town, main title contenders with Wey-mouth at this point, was then thwarted by the weather in Nov-ember, but the squad did receive a boost when McPhee was able to take to the field once again when it was feared a foot injury could keep him out for up to six weeks.

December then came along and, finally, after 92 days in total, the Terras contested a home league fixture, beating Banbury United 3-2.

Winger Alec Fiddes was then brought in by Matthews, another addition who had worked with Craig Laird at Weston, and with skipper Yetton in sublime scoring form, another derby victory over the Magpies followed at the Avenue on Boxing day.

And to round off a stellar year on the pitch, Weymouth overcame struggling Arlesey Town at home two days later to seal their ninth consecutive league win.

That result puts the Terras level on points at the summit of the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Div-ision, with a game in hand on leaders Poole going into 2015.

It now seems Matthews’ vision of taking the club back to the top eight of the Conference South, an ambition which some thought would take him a lengthy period to achieve, is not all that far away.