Michael Boulding has offered to drop his wages to prove his commitment to City.

The striker is one of the higher earners that the club have been looking to move on during the summer because of the much-reduced budget.

But Boulding is desperate to show his worth at Valley Parade next season on two fronts – by banging in more goals and doing the business on less money.

He reveal-ed: “I have talked to Stuart (McCall) and have said I would be prepared to take a cut. We just need to sit down and talk about it.

“It’s difficult for me to say too much but I don’t want to leave Bradford.

“As long as the club still want me, then I want to be here. I don’t want to stay and sit around just picking up wages because that’s no good to anybody.

“There’s been no talk about walking away from the club. I don’t want to because it’s a great place to be and, for me, there’s a lot of unfinished business.

“Last season was a very average one for me and I really want to stay and put that right by doing myself justice.”

The future of Boulding – one of the highest-paid players – as well as Graeme Lee, Paul McLaren and Chris Brandon has been in the spotlight since City revealed the wage bill for next term was being slashed by more than a third.

But all four are set to return tomorrow alongside the rest of the squad for pre-season fitness tests.

Boulding has already put in plenty of hard work through the break to ensure he comes back in the best possible condition.

Boulding’s form in front of goal tailed off last season as the team’s results crashed around him.

He scored 13 times – half the tally he racked up the year before with relegated Mansfield. And Boulding notched only one in the last three months, a tap-in at Chesterfield in a dead game on the final day.

Boulding added: “There was certain stuff in my game that I stopped doing last season. This season I’m totally focused on what I need to be doing to play well.

“Some people thought that Thorney and I weren’t that good together. We did well in fits and spurts but it got more difficult towards the end of the season when confidence was draining out of the team.

“The game at Chester was a perfect example for me. I had two snap-shots early on and, if one had gone in, I could have finished with a hat-trick but instead things went from bad to worse.

“It got harder as goals went against us and then teams would just shut up shop.

“But I’ve played with lots of different strikers in my career and I know we are both good players who can make it work.

“I also think the new lad from Macclesfield, Gareth Evans, is a great addition. He’s a young lad with lots of energy which will really help.”

Critics claimed that City did not do enough to fit in with Boulding’s style of playing off the last defender and chasing balls in behind the back four.

He said: “Maybe there were times when they didn’t but it doesn’t really matter. I’ve played in teams where they lump it and others where they only pass all the time.

“As a striker I have to work around the strengths of the team rather than them working around me. It’s up to me to adapt.

“For me personally, this season is completely different. I know what I’m getting with the manager; I know what the club and the fans are about, which will make it a lot easier.”

  • Kyle Nix has begun a trial with Mansfield, who last month signed Paul Heckingbottom