Morecambe manager Derek Adams looks forward to his first game in charge against Carlisle United

New Morecambe manager Derek Adams is looking forward to examining the tools at his disposal when he takes charge of the club for the first time tonight.
New Morecambe manager Derek Adams       Picture: Getty ImagesNew Morecambe manager Derek Adams       Picture: Getty Images
New Morecambe manager Derek Adams Picture: Getty Images

The Shrimps welcome Carlisle United to the Globe Arena for their final Leasing.com Trophy group stage game.

Qualification for the next round is impossible following defeats against Blackpool and Wolves’ U21s, so Morecambe are playing for prize money and pride this evening.

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Although it may be Adams’ first match since being named as Jim Bentley’s successor last week, he has witnessed their last two games; the league win against Leyton Orient and FA Cup loss at Blackpool.

“It will give me an opportunity to look at everyone,” Adams said after meeting the media for the first time on Monday afternoon.

“It’s important I go into it focused on my way of thinking.

“There are different areas I’ve seen I can, hopefully, improve from Saturday’s game and the game before that.”

The 44-year-old, whose playing career included spells with Aberdeen, Burnley, Ross County and Motherwell, came to prominence as a boss north of the border.

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Two spells in charge at Ross County, either side of an assistant manager’s role at Hibernian, saw him win two promotions, take them to the Scottish Cup final and named as the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year for the 2011-12 season.

He joined Plymouth Argyle in 2015 and, having led them to the League Two play-off final in his first season, guided them to automatic promotion next time around.

A seventh-placed finish in League One followed before he left the club towards the end of last season as the Pilgrims were relegated.

With those notable successes on his CV, Adams’ decision to take over as manager of a club sitting bottom of the EFL would appear to be a surprising one.

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Nevertheless, the man himself explained just what attracted him to the role.

He said: “There’s a challenge here, and if you look throughout my managerial career, it’s been about challenges.

“I was at Ross County for a number of years and took them to the Premier League in Scotland.

“Plymouth Argyle were down the bottom of League Two and I took them to League One as well.

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“Football is all about challenges and this is a new challenge for me.

“I watched them against Leyton Orient and Blackpool and I think it always takes you some time to analyse the squad.

“I’ll do that over the coming weeks but we’ve got a game on Tuesday and then an away game against Crawley Town on Saturday.

“When new managers come in, they (players) have a desire and some will have a jump in their step because they have a new challenge.”