Adams: recent events were "as tough as they get"
Manager Micky Adams is hoping that Vale bounce back from the turmoil of recent weeks after admitting the club had hit “rock-bottom” last week.
Adams is still reeling from the breakdown of Keith Ryder’s takeover bid and feels personally let down by the one-time preferred bidder.
In an honest and heartfelt interview with the Sentinel, Adams said: “Mr Ryder gave me a budget which would have made us competitive at the top end of the table. That budget is not there anymore.
“We’ve also got no sponsorship, no kit and this last week has been as tough as they get.
“But there is no use moaning and complaining about it and I’ve had a good talk to the players about where we go from here.
“We will put out a side to work their socks off, play with passion and go about our business in the best possible way. We will give everything.
“The players have been absolutely amazing. I’ve told them that I can’t thank them enough for their loyalty, character and commitment.
“They have thrown away a lot of money in signing these contracts. Some of them had previously signed two-year deals, which Keith Ryder had also signed himself.
“That should have been guaranteed money, but they have now been replaced by contracts which run for nine months.
“I’m embarrassed because I believed in Keith Ryder and believed in what he was doing.
“To find out that the players could have walked away for nothing after all the work we had done in pre-season was unbelievable.
“I hope the football club has hit rock-bottom and we can start to climb again, but I can’t guarantee that.”
Adams has been one of the few unifying figures at the club and has rightly received praise for the professional way he has led the Vale squad, despite the near-farcical events at Burslem this summer.