JAMES Meredith reckons a change in lifestyle is behind his consistent form for City this season.

The Australian has just committed his future to Valley Parade after signing a new deal for another two years.

Meredith has been one of City’s best performers since regaining his regular left-back slot in October from Alan Sheehan, who recently joined Peterborough on loan to overcome his frustration at lack of action.

Meredith, who has started 44 games, puts his improvement down to a better focus on and off the pitch.

“I changed the way I lived a lot,” he said. “I sought out help in terms of my health and diet.

“I got a lot of advice from (head of sports performance) Nick Allamby and the other coaches and tried to live the best way possible and have my mind on football.

“Obviously you can’t have your mind on it every minute but 90 per cent of the time now I’m concentrating on the game.

“I’ve worked hard, got my head down when I need to and tried to do all the right things. I’ve been given my opportunity and have made sure that this year I’m as fit as I can possibly be.

“Alan’s a very good player and I’m sure he will do well on loan at Peterborough. I’m sure he will be back here and have a big impact with us again.

“But I’ve managed to hold the shirt since October and want to keep that consistency level as high as I can.

“I try to give my all every time I go out there and leave nothing on the pitch. That’s been my tactic since I started getting back in the team and what I intend to keep doing.

“You’ve got to be able to meet every road block to get where you want to. I’ve done everything right this season and I plan to do it all again next year as well.”

Meredith looked to be on his way out of City last summer when he stalled over contract talks before finally penning a one-year deal on the eve of the season. It mean he was playing catch-up from the start.

He added: “I never really spoke about it before but the main reason was that I had a problem at the time with my agent. I’ve solved it now but I had to go through litigation with the FA to get everything sorted.

“It’s just nice now to be committed to Bradford in the long term. It’s a weight off my shoulders to get it sorted early and means there’s nothing to worry about in the off season.”