Davis looks for Poppies upset against his former side

The Poppies skipper has spoken openly for the first time about what it has been like for the squad since it was revealed they were paid just a percentage of their wages in November before not being paid at all earlier this month.

A payment agreement made with chairman Imraan Ladak saw the contracted players paid some of the money owed to them on Monday and the plan is for them to be up to date on their wages by January 2.

The problems have seen the club hit by a transfer embargo while the financial turmoil has also resulted in bailiffs repossessing the club’s former stadium on behalf of Rockingham Road landlord Ben Pickering.

The issues have seen results on the pitch affected and the Poppies head into Boxing Day’s looking nervously over their shoulders as they hover just above the Blue Square Bet Premier relegation zone.

Davis is no stranger to this situation having gone through a similar period, ironically at Luton, and he admits it has been hard – although he praised the club’s fans for playing their part in helping to keep the players’ spirits up.

“It has been a bad time and a bumpy ride,” the 32-year-old left-back said.

“Individually, people have had money problems and some of the lads haven’t been able to afford to come to training.

“I have been here before and I didn’t get paid for a few months when I was at Luton and the club was in administration.

“All you can do is get your head down and get on with it. The things off the field have to be dealt with by someone else.

“It’s going to be an interesting Christmas with the two games against Luton.

“What happens after that, who knows? We will just concentrate on those two matches and try to get something from them.

“We have barely been able to field a team for some games but we just have to keep going.

“The fans can see what is going on and they have been fantastic, particularly at home.

“It does lift you and they have been a massive help since all this kicked off.

“We would obviously like to be being paid in full and at the other end of the table like Luton are.

“But there isn’t a lot we can do about that. All we can do is keep working as hard as possible and see if we can get something from the game on Boxing Day.”

Davis is guaranteed a good reception at Kenilworth Road this afternoon after the full-back made well over 200 appearances during his time at the club.

He is looking forward to going back again but he believes the Poppies have a chance of gaining a positive result despite realising that just about everyone will be writing them off once again.

“I have been back there a couple of times and I have always enjoyed playing there,” he said.

“They are passionate fans and if players show that same passion, they will look after you.

“I think that’s why they have always been good to me because I always gave it my all for them.

“We have been written off in every game we have played since the off-field problems came out in the press.

“The upside is there will be no pressure on us, it will all be the Luton players.

“If we can go there and keep a clean sheet for 45 minutes or an hour then things may well get a bit edgy.”