WEYMOUTH have snapped up their third player in the space of just five days after announcing that Sean Stewart has agreed terms to stay at the club next season.

The former Bridport man has impressed the club’s coaching staff having broken into the first team during the latter stages of the campaign.

He joins Ashley Wells and skipper Stephane Zubar as the third member of the current squad to be retained under new manager Mark Molesley and assistant Paul Maitland.

Speaking about the deal for the midfielder, Maitland told Echosport: “Brad (Asagba, reserves’ boss) brought Sean in last summer and Sean had aspirations to play in the first team.

“He also had offers to go and play in the Wessex League and Western League but he was keen to try and break through at Weymouth.

“We set him a target and said to him to play in the cup games. We said ‘you need to prove to us that you really want it by getting yourself fitter’ and he has done that over the season.

“He has made an awful lot of progression over the season. He has trained well when he has trained with us, has learnt and listened and, when you give him information during games he takes it on board.”

He added: “We see him as a better footballer than people give him credit for because they just see he is a big strong guy. We were really pleased that, towards the end of the season, he managed to break into the side and keep his place.

“He has been in there on merit. He is one we have work to do with in pre-season but we are hopeful he could become an important part of the process going forward.

“We have made it clear with Sean that he has work to do in the off season to make sure he comes back fitter and sharper than he is now but, if he does all those things, I can’t see why he can’t be a success.”