SHAKERS: Nicky Adams celebrates 10 years in professional football

The former Bury, Leicester City and Wales Under-21 international is currently enjoying life at Northampton Town and closing in on 400 first class games.

Yet the chirpy midfielder concedes it could have been very different had Chris Casper, then the Football League’s youngest manager, not handed him a surprise chance at Gigg Lane back in October 2005.

“When I made my debut at Bury I was 18, on £45 a week, had a kid on the way, and to be honest I needed to make a decision with what I wanted to do with my life,” he told the Bury Times.

“I might have left football alone and got a normal job, which is weird to think now. But it was close.

“I knew I had a bit of talent. But there was all sorts going on outside football that could have made me a very different person if I’d let it.

“But from the day I made my debut against Darlington things changed. Once Rachel had my baby daughter Keira, I never looked back. They were my inspiration.”

Adams went on to command a regular place for the Shakers, forcing his way into the Wales u21 set-up alongside the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen.

He left Bury in rather acrimonious circumstances to join Leicester City in 2008 and helped Nigel Pearson’s side to promotion from League One.

Adams’ chances in the Championship were limited but he looks back on his time at the King Power Stadium with fondness.

“It was a great move for me,” he said. “I learned so much from playing with top players like Andy King and Nobby Solano.

“The experience of going down there and making it on my own was really good for me. It got my head right.”

A knee operation prevented Adams from accepting a senior call up from Wales in 2009 but he was involved in a Euro u21 play-off against England which pitted him against the likes of David Wheater, Joe Hart, James Milner and Theo Walcott.

For a while, Adams’ career looked to be losing direction with a number of loan spells dotted around permanent moves to Brentford and Rochdale.

But when Sean O’Driscoll snapped him up for un-fancied Crawley Town, the Bolton midfielder admits his spark came back.

“I had a great two seasons there which ultimately led to another big club coming in for me,” he said, referring to a move to Rotherham United, managed by the flamboyant Steve Evans.

“Steve Evans is quite a character. We got on great at first but then we had a big falling out, which I blame myself for really.

“I’m my own worst enemy at times, I say things I shouldn’t do, but I was part of another promotion at Rotherham and I played quite well there.

“People know what I’m like, a bit of a Jack the Lad, but maybe it’s part of the charm.

“If nothing else it got me back to Bury and gave me a chance to put a few things right.”

After his bitter exit six years earlier, Adams did not know what reception to expect in his second spell with the Shakers under former team-mate David Flitcroft.

“I felt like I owed something to the fans,” he said. “I hadn’t left on good terms but to get promotion like we did on the last day, it was perfect.

“I was looking forward to continuing that this season but then things happen behind closed doors and I’m off again.

“It was a bit of a farce, really, but I wish the club all the best.”

Adams moved to sign a three-year deal with Northampton and now spends part of his week down south, and part up with his family, which has now been extended to include four-year-old Archie.

“I can’t believe I’ve been going for 10 years and still not grown up,” he added. “I’m League Two’s Peter Pan me.

“But I’d like to think I can carry on for a good while yet.

“My mum and dad are my biggest fans, and my biggest critics. They tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.

“And my brother is my absolute hero. He taught me to play football in the first place.

“I’ve got a lot to be happy about – but I don’t forget where I come from. I’m proud to be from Breightmet, from Bolton, and I don’t hide it from anyone.”