SLEEPY Ballygar is not the most vibrant places at the best of times – so at 5.30am, it resembles a scene from the zombie flick 28 Days Later.

That was the ungodly hour myself and Sentinel photographer Shaun Smith were supposed to join up with Micky Adams's squad for a spot of fly fishing.

But as we watched the sun rise above Ballygar's picturesque St Mary's Church through bleary eyes, it became clear we had fallen hook, line and sinker for an "hilarious" prank.

Although the fishing trip was never part of yesterday's itinerary, Vale's equally- gullible kit-man Mark Cooper was also caught out.

It turned out we had just become the latest victims of Adams's devilish sense of humour; not that we'd seen the funny side when realisation literally dawned on us.

"I've been to Ballygar about eight times with my former clubs – Fulham, Brighton and Coventry – and someone always falls for it," said the gleeful Adams.

"I'm just delighted it was the Sentinel boys and Coops who got caught out this time."

When it was time to face our tormentors hours later, skipper Tommy Fraser and Doug Loft looked particularly pleased.

That's because the midfield duo fell for the same hoax two years ago when Adams took Brighton to Ballygar.

Thankfully, such schoolboy shenanigans were kept to a minimum – although we are still searching for the aerial mysteriously stolen from the roof of our hire car.

Ballygar has provided the perfect hide-away for Vale to fine-tune their preparations for the new League Two campaign.

This village, boasting a population of just 600, is tucked away in County Galway's vast rural landscape and sits almost slap-bang in the centre of Ireland. The hub of the village, Main Street, is littered with a few traditional-looking watering holes and small shops.

They include the MJ Kelly hardware store, which in keeping with the retro look, has a rusty old diesel pump adorning its frontage.

On entering the village, you are confronted by a slightly curious sign which reads: "Ballygar – a host town for Afghanistan."

Fearing that members of the Taliban had nicked out aerial, I was quickly reassured that the sign was a legacy of Ballygar hosting Afghanistan's Special Olympics team in 2003.

Adams's players have been scattered in digs across Ballygar this week – with the unluckiest being treated to the smallest of one-bedroom pads. The club's travelling fans based themselves in bigger and busier places such as Galway, on the west of Ireland, and further east in Athlone.

"When you first come here, you see lots of fields and farms and it's obviously a very beautiful place with a fair bit of tumbleweed floating about," said striker Marc Richards.

"Tommy and Doug told me what it is like here, but it's even quieter than I imagined.

"There isn't much to do for the younger generation.

"But it's served our purpose, because it's the perfect place for us to train, play games and sleep."

Richards has been rooming with 6ft-plus defender John McCombe.

"If I told you a couple of the things John's been up to in the room, I don't think he would be too happy with me," joked Richards.

"John's a great lad and a real character. We're in a really small room with two beds.

"Such surroundings are good for team-bonding, though, because we're in each other's pocket all the time and as a group, we've had to find things to do.

"There are a few stories but I've been sworn to secrecy – especially about car aerials."

Not that there's been too much downtime for Richards and Co to enjoy, as they have existed on a regular diet of intense training and match action over the past week.

On non-match days, they have completed double training sessions a few miles down the road at the home of the reigning Roscommon and District League champions, Shiven Rovers.

A back-breaking gym session was also thrown into the mix on Wednesday, when the heavens opened to lash down torrential rain.

Meanwhile, the team's victories at Athlone Town (2-0) and Mervue United (1-0) on Tuesday and Thursday respectively have provided useful distractions.

Adams let his players off the leash at night, but set a strict 11pm curfew which was never abused.

And, sadly, there have been no drunken nights of debauchery to report from Ballygar's sparsely-populated pubs.

Adams hasn't always commanded such perfect subservience from his previous squads.

During a previous trip to Ballygar with Fulham, some of his players stole a life-size plastic horse from outside a pub.

And the priest at St Mary's had quite a fright the next morning when he found the animal trying to drink from his font.

"I've had to put up with a bit of tomfoolery on past trips," added Adams, "but the Vale players have been a real credit to themselves. They have not been boisterous and have respected their surroundings.

"I don't want nice boys on the pitch in the competitive sense but it's great how much respect they have shown to the locals out here."