A CHANGE in attitude by everyone in the team has helped Weymouth begin to turn their season around, goalkeeper Ryan Harrison believes.

The 24-year-old shot stopper has kept four clean sheets in his last five Blue Square South games and was named the club’s player of the month for November.

That is a complete contrast to his first two home league games of the season when he conceded five to Eastleigh and then six to Bishop’s Stortford, and Harrison is happy with the turnaround.

“We’ve added a couple of loan lads who have done well,” said Harrison. “They have done alright for us and it just seems to have shored things up.

“We’ve been playing together as a back five for a little while so we know what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are and what we’re going to do so we can help each other out.

“We are defending from the front all the way through to the defence, whereas before it was left to the back four and myself.

“The big difference if you watch us play now compared with before is people are now prepared to chuck themselves in front of shots.

“As a team we are much more of a unit than we were before. We had one or two lads who thought they were strikers only and midfielders who thought they could bomb on and not help out defensively.

“Now we go forward as a team and defend as a team, that showed on Yew Year’s Day when we had a centre-half scoring against Dorchester.”

Harrison, who was signed in the summer by Matty Hale, has been an ever-present in the Terras’ side,

Strong at the back holding on to the number one shirt when Ian Hutchinson took over in the Wessex Stadium’s hot seat.

“I think the change in management obviously swung things round and the fact we’ve got a good run going seems to have carried it on,” said Harrison.

“We are going out now believing we can win games rather than going out and thinking, ‘oh no, here we go again’.

“Matty did everything he could but the change seemed to come at the right time.” During that run of form, which has seen Harrison keep all five of this season’s clean sheets since the beginning of November, rivals Dorchester Town have been the main focus of the claret and blue's attentions.

Three clean sheets in the three derby games was his return, securing Weymouth a passage through FA Trophy qualifying and four points in the league.

“It was fantastic, we couldn’t have asked for any more,” said Harrison.

“Although I think we could have won the game over there as we thought we had a perfectly good goal disallowed. But we battered them in the FA Trophy and again at home in the league.”

Those were four important points against a side considered to be one of their relegation rivals but more will be needed this month, especially against Worcester and Lewes towards the end of January.

“We’ve got a couple of tough games coming up,” said Harrison. “Welling would have been a tough game and then the teams like Lewes and Worcester will be too so hopefully we can get results from those games.”

Last night’s Dorset Senior Cup tie against Gillingham Town fell victim to the weather for the sixth time.

It is expected to take place next Tuesday, January 19. The fixture with Staines Town on the same night has already been postponed because of the Swans’ involvement in the Middlesex Senior Cup.