Adams: I said sorry to 'rubbish' players

His remarks came after a poor December which saw Wycombe win just one game out of seven. Adams said that he needed a new " goalkeeper, right-back, maybe a centrehalf, left- back, a couple of midfielders and a couple of forwards". The 37-year-old knew almost immediately that he had made his first big howler in management.

"I publicly apologised to them for that. It was said in the heat of the moment after a game (Wycombe's 2-0 defeat to Rushden). I am very emotional after a match and I don't like losing so when the question was thrown at me, I answered. That was another thing I learned in a job where I am learning all the time.

"What I do now is take 15 minutes after a game and collect my thoughts. But I am not going to be robotic, I am not going to be a 'no comment' person. Yes, some things that should be kept in the dressing room I let out of the bag. And after that particular match, I had all the players in and I said I was wrong. I had undermined my players in public and I told them I was sorry. I also said they were a great bunch and that I wanted to work hard with them to help the club progress. So I am still learning."

And at a club where resources are minimal, Adams is having to learn quickly. He said: "The biggest difference between here and Arsenal? Not having four coaches to do my work, not having five masseurs, not having a physiologist or four physiotherapists or staying in five-star accommodation. Everything is different.

"There is a lot of negativity about the club. They have been going through a bad time and I have been trying to change things. But I have a lot of players out of contract at the end of the season so there is fear. Fear and change . . . you know what human beings are like when they are faced by those two things."

Among the changes have been double training sessions and a complete revamp of the youth and scouting systems. He added: "I am at reserve matches three times a week. The job has taken me to places where I have never been. We played Wrexham (in November) and I was there before with Arsenal when we lost 2-1 in the FA Cup. I got a goalless draw this time so I did better than Arsenal!" The limitations imposed by the financial restraints are evident every week. For instance, last Saturday's game at Chesterfield. "That fell within the three-hour thing," he explained. "We left at 9am and I arranged for the squad to have a prematch meal at a hotel near Nottingham at around 11.45 am. Then on to Chesterfield and back straight afterwards. I have to choose the overnights carefully. Say it costs £5,000 and we have 10 a season. That is £50,000 and that is the price of a good player for me." It was a success of sorts sinceWycombe drew 2-2.

Diet has also been an issue that Adams has needed to broach, although he admits that match day "is the one day that I have complete control over the players".

On such a day he needed to have a quiet word with midfielder Darren Currie. Adams added: "It was about 40 minutes before the game and he was eating an apple. I had to point out how long that takes to go through the digestive system. He hadn't been told anything like that before."

And then there is the technique of delivering a message. "We had a team meeting the other day and I wanted to really get the message across. So I started very low in my voice and as I went on with what I had to say the voice went up and I stood up to get the necessary impact. I am learning about little things like that."

In between his duties at Wycombe, Adams also finds time to see his 12-year-old son Oliver play. Time-consuming it certainly is. But would he swap it to go back to Brunel University, where he was studying for a sports science degree?

"University was great," he said. "It was lovely going into that learning environment. But football is where I belong. This is part two of my career. I am at the bottom now but in time I believe I will be at the top."