IT’S BEEN more than four years but Andrew Davies is finally coming back to Valley Parade.

The defensive cornerstone in that iconic City era has not set foot at the club since leaving in the summer of 2015.

But Davies returns to familiar ground on Sunday and admits it has been too long.

“I’ve got so many special memories and I’m really excited about it,” said the 34-year-old, who will be hosting a seminar promoting his sports drink business.

“Obviously I had a bit of a fall-out with Phil Parkinson right at the end. It was a shame but it’s gone now and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club.

“It’s through nobody’s fault that this is my first time back. I always wanted to get down and would love to have been there for Darbs (Stephen Darby) but being at Dundee, it was still five hours away.”

Davies has taken the high road since ending a four-year stint at City which featured 125 games, including two Wembley appearances and that unforgettable afternoon at Stamford Bridge.

After failing to agree another deal, he upped sticks for Scotland and a change of scenery at Ross County.

He admitted: “I didn’t expect it to go as well as how it did.

“I played over 100 games and took the family up there. It was just a bit of a change.

“It’s the furthest north club there is so it was a bit of a crazy move. But when I got up there and started playing, it was fantastic.

“We were obviously playing against Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen and it was all right. The Scottish league gets a lot of bad press but when you’re actually involved, it’s a lot better than people think.

“It’s a really physical league and if you don’t stand up to it, you get bullied.

“When I arrived, they probably thought, ‘here’s a soft Englishman’ but that’s my kind of game and I slotted in well.”

Davies returned to the north-east in 2018 after his mum fell ill and linked up with former City team-mate Matthew Bates at Hartlepool. But it did not go well.

“I signed for three years but I did my ankle about 14 games in. The team went on a really bad run and Batesy got sacked.

“Richard Money took over and the moment he walked in the door I was thinking, ‘oh dear’.

“I don’t cane anyone and I’m sure he’s a decent bloke but it wasn’t my type of stuff with him.

“I didn’t want to sit there and just take the money because I’ve a lot of time for Hartlepool. I used to support them when I was younger.”

Dundee offered him another opportunity north of the border in January – but a broken foot just four weeks after signing effectively ended that journey before it had begun.

Now 34, Davies admits he is “semi-retired” after putting his body through the mill.

Instead, he is channelling his energy into spreading the word about a sports drink diet he was encouraged to try by Dundee team-mate Chris Curran.

Davies said: “I’ve never been a supplement taker in my career and it probably took this lad four weeks banging in my head to persuade me.

“But I could see he was losing weight and looked better for it. I was injured and thought, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’

“I just started taking it and haven’t turned back in seven months. Now I want to pass on that experience with people.”

The meeting at Valley Parade aims to explain the science behind the American-based drink exogenous ketones.

“It basically puts you in keytosis, which means you are using your fat as your energy,” added Davies. “I wish I’d known about this six or seven years ago.

“I started telling more people about it because there are so many health benefits. There have been loads of studies.

“It’s grown very fast as people wanted to know more and got me doing seminars.

“I can’t drive around to explain it to everyone. So, I’ve put together a team and got people in Leeds, Bradford, London, Essex working with me.

“I thought it would be a good idea to get to Bradford, bring some samples along and basically explain what it is.

“We had one in Yarm the other week and the response was really good. It’s going to be a fun day.”

The free event starts from 11.30am.