by Michael Baggaley

BARACK Obama has yet to visit Vale Park. But he would have struggled to command a warmer welcome than Micky Adams received when the new manager met fans for the first time.

Adams officially starts work on July 1, but travelled up from his Brighton home specifically to attend a meet-the-manager evening.

He didn't need to win over a 300-strong audience, but wowed them anyway with a two-hour session on the microphone which ended with hearty chants of "One Micky Adams" from every refurbished corner of an excited Tommy Cheadle's Bar.

The new boss had earlier reassured supporters he would not jump ship the first time a club from a higher division came calling.

The 47-year-old, who has signed a one-year deal, said he wants to stay longer and hopes to make the same sort of impact John Rudge managed in the north of the city. He said: "If people want me, they only want me for one reason, because I have been successful at this football club.

"If that is the case, it would be a win-win situation for everybody. But I have learned in my career that you can go from 'A' to 'B' too quickly. I think I have done that at times.

"I want to get my teeth into a football club and lay down some foundations, very much like Rudgey, and be talked about at this football club for years to come.

"Talk is cheap, I know that. I am not here for the short-term. If the board of directors had put a five-year contract in front of me, I would have signed it."

The Valiants, as director Glenn Oliver pointed out, aren't in a financial position to offer anyone a five-year deal.

But Adams, who is to move up to the Midlands, won't have to spend his first pre-season painting the changing rooms, as Rudge had to 25 years ago.

Vale's progress off the field helped earn chairman Bill Bratt a richly-deserved MBE, but no one on the board would deny the situation on the pitch is far less promising.

With most of last season's squad already under contract, Adams will have to find a way to improve the players who finished 18th last season under Glover.

Rather than stick the boot in to his predecessor, Adams added: "Dean had a difficult job because a lot of players had two-year contracts. I think he knew where the problems were and wanted to move players on as best he could.

"Unfortunately, in this day and age, when players have contracts for longer than a year, it is very difficult to move them on.

"I personally think you will see better performances this season from individuals because their contracts are coming to a close.

"As we have seen in the current climate, in all industries, jobs are hard to come by.

"I would hope they would redouble their efforts. Not just because they are coming to the end of their contracts, but for a bit of professional pride."

If reading that has some players accidentally buttering their shirt-sleeves this morning, there was no more comfort for the squad when Adams was asked if he'd sought advice from any of them.

As blunt as a wrecking ball, he added: "To be honest, I am not interested in what they have got to say to me.

"I met Joe Anyon and Sam Stockley last week and Louis Dodds was in the youth system when I was at Leicester. But other than that, I don't know them. I am not the type of manager that wants players' opinions."

Having let the players know where they stand, Adams did the same with supporters. He offered no pie in the sky promises, merely guaranteeing he would use his nine years of management experience to produce a committed, organised side who would give them value for money – win, lose or draw.

If Adams was concerned about unrealistic expectations, he must have been heartened by the mood of the crowd who, rather than talk of promotion, simply urged him to deliver a team they can be proud of once more.

If the team can play with some of Adams's fire, better times are surely around the corner.

His experience includes Premier League football with Leicester City, but he didn't consider it beneath him to field questions on his likely tactics.

True, he declined to disclose whether he would be bringing all the team back to defend corners.

However, he noted the views of one fan who observed: "With some of the midgets we've got, they're a flaming hindrance in the area anyway."

Adams will have been more reassured to learn his fleeting association with Stoke City is not a problem for Vale fans.

He played just 10 games for the Potters, in 1994, a one-night stand compared to the meaningful relationship he plans with the Vale.

"I wasn't there long," he said. "But Maxims was fantastic."