Albion have a long-distance fan at the Amex, with special reason to be pleased with the Premier League performances of Mathew Ryan.

Mum's the word for the Seagulls' Australian No.1.

Ryan's mother, Carol, has been at games, watching her son grow after a shaky start to play a key role in three clean sheets in the last seven outings, the latest at West Ham on Friday night.

Ryan has footed the bill for his mum to be with him since the summer - payback for the part she has played in his career.

Ryan was ten when his parents divorced. His dad paid child support, but Carol became a single parent to him and his sister, Megan, in Plumpton, western Sydney.

Ryan, telling his story on the PlayersVoice website, said: "She was always the leader of the house. Money was tight. I'm sure there were some tough times, but Mum didn't let on much. She didn't want her kids to worry. The biggest worry for me was making sure I did my homework.

"I watched Mum run our household as a kid but it wasn’t until years later I realised all the life lessons she was teaching me in the process.

"Mum would only let my sister and I get a $1 chocolate that was on special on a Friday. We'd eat home-cooked meals and on the weekend we could have a bit of take-away. It was just Mum being disciplined, because she could only afford so much, being a single mother.

"My sister's school fees, my school fees, my $1000-a-year or more soccer fees – Mum was always paying these things off in instalments because she could never afford to do it all at once and that taught us to be smart with our money when we became adults and not take things for granted."

Carol resigned from her office job with a transport company to be by Ryan's side since he signed for Albion from Valencia in the summer.

"I know my Mum would do anything for me," he said. "Everyone in my family looks out for each other. This is why family is so important to me and now that I'm financially secure I can support Mum a bit more. I wanted to do something for her in return and she’s over in England with me now, having the trip of her life.

"She quit her job and came over with Megan to link up with me after the Confederations Cup. I met them at Wimbledon on July 3 (below).

The Argus: "I'm friends with Kim Clijsters from when I was playing in Belgium (for Club Brugge) and she got us tickets. I loved the US when I went there last year and wanted to discover more of that, so we went to Chicago and then on to New York.

"After that we went to Croatia where I could recharge the batteries before getting to Brighton and meeting all the challenges the Premier League was going to bring.

"Mum and Megan went to Malta and Scotland together and Mum did a tour of Italy while I was doing pre-season training. Megan has gone back home, but Mum's here for a while longer. She's been coming to the Brighton games, of course."

* Ryan is a founding contributor to www.playersvoice.com.au, a vehicle for elite Australian sportsmen and women to share their stories in their own words.