HE WAS a fitness trainer at Oxford United, worked for the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain, and now he is a physio in the Caribbean alongside ex-Oxford United manager Graham Rix.

For Lindsay Davis, a life of hard work is paying off.

He attributes his success to a holistic approach: treating each player as an individual, taking in not just their physical but also their mental state.

Mr Davis, 45, said: “You can put heart-rate monitors and machines on a player, but the most important thing you can give is not money, it is time.

“Players have problems at home, like everyone else.

“Sometimes I have sat and listened to a player, and they have got up and said ‘thanks, that was fantastic’, and I haven’t said a thing.”

Mr Davis grew up in Woodstock, attended the Marlborough School, and played football for Witney and Thame.

After school he qualified as a mechanic, but at the age of 30 decided on a career change and went to work for the NHS.

For five years he ran gyms for people registered with mental health problems.

And at the same time he was volunteering as a fitness coach for Oxford United.

He said: “I would get home from work, rush my dinner and then rush out to help at a football match. At one stage I was doing sports massage, fitness, kit supply and everything.”

He was eventually given a job, and was part of the backroom team that helped Oxford beat York 3-1 at the play-off final at Wembley in May 2010, under Chris Wilder, to claim a place back in the Football League.

Then, after hearing about his work through a mutual friend, Glenn Hoddle called and asked him to fly out to Spain to work at his academy.

The academy is an independent development centre for football helping young players to fulfil their potential through expert assessment and coaching.

Mr Davis said: “I am an Oxford lad – and we had some good times – but for me it was a chance to work with one of the best managers England have had.

“Glenn has a fantastic knowledge of football, he is so intelligent the way he looks at players and picks up on technique.”

Mr Davis worked in Spain for about a year, then returned to work with the academy when it moved to Bisham Abbey.

He was still treating players around the country when ex-Oxford United manager Graham Rix offered him a job at new club Central FC, which he manages, owned by footballer Brent Sancho in Trinidad.

Now Mr Davis has moved to Trinidad with his partner Deborah Gonzalez.

After just three games Central FC are top of the Trinidad and Tobago pro league.

He said: “It is by no means all beaches.

“There are some very dodgy places – some of our lads come from very dodgy backgrounds.”

He added: “I will stay and see how it goes, but you never know what is around the corner in football.”