Very strong words from Morecambe’s Derek Adams after a 4-1 defeat to Chesterfield – “We don’t have a plan in place for next season”.
Morecambe have been up for sale since September 2022, while also facing an uncertain future outside of the Football League.
Adams said that he was hoping to find out about the budget for the 2025/26 season – back in the National League for the first time since 2007 – at a board meeting next week before the final game of the season against Harrogate.
Before the game, he said when asked directly whether he would remain at the club next season: “Yes. I’m under contract so I’ll be here next season and players are under contract as well.
“We have to find out what the budget is for next season. It didn’t matter what division we were in, we still have to have a budget and we will have to wait what that is.
“But we are going to have to be in the play-off places next season, there is no doubt about it. We understand how competitive a league it is but for us to go down a division, that has to be our ultimate aim.”
He wanted to go down fighting: “To lose 15 games 1-0 shows how close we were but we haven’t been good enough to win those games,” he said. “But we want to go to Chesterfield and put on a performance.”
Incredible today and all season – thank you for your support ❤️#UTS 🦐 | #CHEvMOR pic.twitter.com/w5i7pOfqCn
— Morecambe FC (@MorecambeFC) April 26, 2025
After the 4-1 defeat to Chesterfield, he said to BBC Sport Lancashire: I thought that our work rate was exceptional today. I couldn’t ask of any more for the majority of the players today. It, was absolutely outstanding.
“The way that the press, the way they run, yes, we don’t have the quality. We understand that. We’re coming to a team that spend millions and millions of pounds. I get that. I hold my hands up.
“They’ve got quality. They pass the ball well, but my players, to a man, work ever so hard. And I can’t ask for any more. This football club can’t ask for any more from these players. And that’s the one thing as a manager.
‘When you stand in the touch line and you’ve got players that try hard, you can’t ask for any more. We didn’t pick the right pass. We made errors defensively. That is the nature of the business. If you’re not given him the resources to go out and get the players, and then that’s a problem for us.
“But these players have given absolutely everything all season, and that’s why our supporters stood in the corner and clapped them off to a man.
“And I want to tell you as well is Chesterfield Football Club and their supporters were absolutely magnificent.
“They understand where we are as a football club because they’ve been there as a football club, and that’s testimony to people at English football to understand. And I was you have a tear in your eye when you come off there, when they’re all standing clapping us off because they understand where we’re having to go. And we’re coming to go to the National League.
“And they’ve been there, and they’ve come back up, and I hope they get promoted out of this league because this is a fantastic football club.
“This is a model that our football club has to look to and take on, on and off the pitch. And we need to start thinking and talking and planning. We don’t have a plan in place for next season yet. Not one plan.
“That’s a problem from up there, and that is a huge problem.”
“And if they don’t start having up there getting it right, then they’re letting this football club down because we have given everything to this football club.
“We’ve given a soul, a heart, a work leg. We’ve not had two days off consecutively this year, and everybody else has think about that.
“We have worked tirelessly for this football club day in, day out, and we haven’t had the rewards that our play has deserved.
“Yes. We’ve made errors. Yes. We’ve made things wrong. That’s what happens in life and sport.
“But you know what? We can go to sleep at night, and we put our head in the pillow and say we’ve given all to this football club, and that’s what we anybody can ask for.”
Interviewer: It was a moment of class, wasn’t it? From Morecambe fans, and as you said, the the, home fans, when you came off that pitch, I could see that. And he mentioned to us as well, you know, good luck next season. And not all clubs do that, and that was really good.”
Derek: “That’s what respect is, and they respected us today. Paul Cook respected us today. The whole play and stuff, they’re a very, very good team. You look at the squad, the way they pass the ball, the way they move, the chances they create, the players that they’ve come in, respect.
“We worked ever so hard to stop that today. And I can’t ask for anything more from my players. And I said that to them in the dressing room. Yes. We could have done things better, but we tried to do things better.”
Interviewer: “This is a club that’s provided a model. From what you’ve just said there, where where do you start then for next season?
Derek: “This is where the problem lies. The board of directors, the owner need to start planning. They don’t have a plan.
“And until they get a plan, then we’ve got a problem. They’re the ones that are the custodians of this football club.
“We’ve got supporters that pay in week in week out for this football club.
“It is their responsibility from up high to give us a plan going forward where they want to take this football club because we worked ever so hard to keep things alive on the deals that we’ve had to do, the transfer embargo at the start of the season, the nonpayment of being able to take players in in January.
“We are a very, very loyal football club. We’ve got loyal supporters, and I feel for them. I feel for a lot of people with inside this football club as well because we are having to pay, a price for someone else’s errors. You’ve got your plans. It’s for the case of everyone else to match your I can’t have my plans. Yeah.
“Until there’s a plan from up there, I can’t have a plan. They are the ones that need to start having a plan. And until they get a plan, then we’ve got a problem.”
Morecambe supporter dressed as Grim Reaper, stood in the corner watching the match, even when they scored. Let’s make this bloke famous, English football sense of humour. @MorecombeFC.@ChesterfieldFC pic.twitter.com/PZmUcBOOyb
— Paul (@Metalli1ad) April 26, 2025
Morecambe Fan’s celebrating going a goal down against Chesterfield FC, Awesome Behaviour!! Like if you’re a SPIREITE 🩵⚽👇 pic.twitter.com/1TA3lHfGib
— The Football League Lads (@blinkudie) April 26, 2025
Very strong words from Morecambe’s Derek Adams – “We don’t have a plan in place for next season” – Here’s the Twitter reaction to it…
@DomDoesStats: Box office. Derek Adams at his emotional best, you can hear it in his voice how much he cares. I don’t know about the planning, or lack thereof, but I do know he’s absolutely right about what he says about the football club and the future of it.
@jamiekay1613:
Adams is NAPM.
Fuck Jason
Fuck the BOD
Fuck Panjab Warriors
Fuck the EFL.
All trying to kill our club. 🦐
@joephelan44: This is a proper interview , this man is Morecambe. Football. Club . He’s being honest here Jason out yes but also the directors of this football club are letting us down . They have come out and said budgets have been set for next season ….
@spireflyer: He is talking sense we got relegated from league because of a bad owner, we played Morecambe 7 games before we got relegated in 2018 we drew 2 – 2 up in Morecambe i doubt at that time they were bothered we were going to be relegated, but being there i though for them today..
@JamesTarget03: I love that. A manager who just gets the culture of a football club. You can tell he’s gutted and frustrated with what’s going on behind the scenes. Guaranteed he gets sacked in the next week for those comments.
@lukecfc5: Good words about town but it’s a shame to see another club where the board seem to fail to match the efforts of fans that turn up week in week out, and staff and players that put in 100%. Their board need to realise that the national league can easily be a trapdoor for EFL clubs
@1867News: Excellent interview this. You could insert our name into much of what is being said. #swfc
@thescreenster: You can disagree with Derek’s style of football, or something of his tactical decisions in games, but I don’t think any Morecambe fan can disagree with anything he’s said here. Fucking brilliant interview
@KnightTangerine: Fair play to Derek Adams for speaking up and saying it like it is. Far too many managers pay lip service to shit owners, we’ve been there! Good luck to the club next season, to the long suffering fans, don’t stay silent, force that dog shit owner out. #Shrimps
@Spireiteswrite: Yet another club that’s been failed by shocking ownership. Fit and proper person’s eh @EFL?
@MorecambeFCFeed: Well said. The uncomfortable truth that some people can’t understand.
@cllrdclifford: Rightly and appropriately angry on behalf of his players, his staff and the fans. And note he’s talking about THEY not just HE when he refers to a lack of a plan and bad decisions off the pitch. An antidote to some of the obsequious bs that’s been out there this week
@StevoJW: What a class manager and a class football club. Been a Chesterfield fan since 1969 and never seen such amazing supporters.
@laurammu68: As a @ChesterfieldFC fan I wish you every possible success in the national league. An incredibly tough league to get off but I genuinely hope you manage it soon. Good luck
@MichaelWilcox82: Fair play to Derek Adams there. Not enough of this in the modern game now. Horrible to see the demise of another football club. Ultimately probably cost him his job what he said there but if that doesn’t wake the board up then I don’t know what will.
HAVE YOUR SAY –
What did you make of this gone viral interview from Derek Adams? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or tweet us @fan_banter
