EVERY little helps, says the slogan of a certain well-known supermarket.

That is certainly the motto when it comes to contract negotiations in football’s lower divisions.

Players further down the ladder are not showered with the eye-watering sums afforded to the Chelsea and Manchester United set.

They might be better off than the average man on the street but mortgages still have to be paid and families looked after. It is, after all, a relatively short career.

Stuart McCall admits he was never motivated by money as a player.

That’s not to deny he has made a very good living out of the sport that has dominated his last four decades.

But his career path was driven more by the size of the club and the challenge, rather than the pay packet.

“It depends on the individual but money never bothered me,” he said.

“I stayed at Bradford for a long time. I could have moved from Rangers, I could have moved from Everton to Leeds on a few occasions for a lot more money.

“When I left Bradford, I was 38 and had three options. I had another two South Yorkshire clubs interested as well as Sheffield United.

“The other two were far smaller clubs but offered me a lot more money. It would have been a lot easier to have taken one of those deals.

“They were all at the same level but I wanted to play at the biggest stadium and biggest club that I could.

“In fairness, I had a career where I’ve made some money. It’s easy for me to say money’s never been a factor.

“But I do understand it if others think that way. Lads at this level have got to pay the bills.”

The excitement and anticipation of going to Wembley a few weeks ago has been replaced by a mood of uncertainty.

City fans are looking for any sign of a positive in a period dominated with talk of out-of-contract big names moving on.

Having been within touching distance of the Championship, some already fear the club are beginning to drift as they wait for firm answers.

McCall’s admission that those being offered new deals are likely to get more elsewhere and, for that reason, may well move on has not made comfortable reading.

But it was an honest appraisal on a picture further skewed by the likes of Bury launching their annual shopping spree.

Southend centre half Adam Thompson was thought to be interesting the Bantams but he became the latest addition to Lee Clark’s fast-growing squad on an apparently sizeable long-term deal.

Jermaine Beckford, Scunthorpe skipper Stephen Dawson and former Huddersfield full back Joe Skarz have already signed up at Gigg Lane.

Phil Parkinson used to pour scorn on the ‘little Bury’ tag and it seems the Shakers are proving a player magnet once again – even on average gates of 3,845, the third lowest in League One last season when they just beat the drop.

McCall can appreciate the attraction, even if it goes against the grain for him personally.

“Without being disrespectful, where would you prefer to play?” he said.

“But if somebody gets offered so much more, you’ve got to look after your family and have that security.

“I can’t speak for everyone but for myself it was always about being content and happy where I was and enjoying it.

“When I was manager here before, I used to hassle over people for £50. Darlington would be offering £100 more and I’d be saying ‘c’mon, where would you rather play, Bradford or Darlington?’

“But that’s £5,000 more over a year, which makes a difference at the lower end. Players in League Two, as we were then, aren’t the same as the Premier League on this blah, blah, blah money.

“So I get that we’ll possibly miss out on some targets because of that. Does it make us more attractive the way we went about things last season? Possibly.

“I’ve spoken to agents and they’ve said if these four clubs (from the same division) are in for their player, then Bradford’s a top choice. But if we aren’t paying the top offer, then the player’s got to think about it.

“Yes, we are a big club at this level, and it’s not as if you can’t use the fact we get crowds of 18,000 as a carrot. But it’s also the length of contract and finances involved that have to be taken into consideration.”