A PLAYER unmotivated by money seems a rare thing in football these days.

The game is awash with cash and there is no shortage of those waiting to trouser it.

Agents continually hawk their clients looking for better deals and astronomical wage demands are commonplace.

How does John Terry get by on just £150,000-a-week?

Surely Gareth Barry must be feeling the pinch in these hard times at Manchester City?

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack once said he couldn’t afford to buy a house in London, despite earning £6million a year. He could wipe out Worcester City’s debt in an instant.

My heart bleeds for the pampered prima donnas. Not that I’m bitter or anything, but you get my point.

Even non-league football is not immune, albeit on a much smaller scale, to players chasing a quick buck.

But there are also plenty who put their careers before their wallets at all levels of the game.

Which is why it is so refreshing to see Rob Davies back at Worcester City, incidentally a club where most have stayed loyal despite the financial strife.

The former West Brom midfielder can consider himself unfortunate to have been released by City manager Richard Dryden in the summer because of budget cuts.

Yet he has refused offers elsewhere to return to St George’s Lane, knowing there was no money left in the current budget to pay him, in a bid to prove he has what it takes.

Davies impressed in patches last season but is still more than capable of matching any of City’s current midfield crop.

The 22-year-old also enjoys being around the place, another key factor in his decision to come back to the Blue Square South club.

“It’s good to be back around the lads,” he said. “At the end of last season, we went our separate ways but I kept in touch with Richard the whole way through the summer.

“I told him I was going on holiday and when I got back he gave me a ring and said I could come down and get some games under my belt.

“I had quite a few other offers but I’m playing at the highest level that I can play and that’s the only way I’m going to improve.

“Money does help in life but it’s all about being happy and I’m going to be happy here — I get on with the lads — and that’s going to improve my football.

“The budget’s been cut massively. I could play somewhere at a lower level and earn a decent wage but I’d rather be here, learning and playing at the highest level possible.”

That kind of attitude has to be applauded. It has certainly endeared him to the fans.

He added: “I knew from the start I was playing catch-up on my fitness but through the summer I’ve been doing my own running and cycling so it’s just getting match fitness now.”

Davies has also noticed a change in the mood of the squad in recent weeks as City look to put their early-season troubles behind them.

He said: “When I first came in the boys were down but you can see the quality is there. We just need to put it all together now. The confidence is back.”