Sligo Rovers' new manager Micky Adams might be acclimatising to life in Irish football, but his new role is not his first taste of soccer on these shores.

Tonight on Off The Ball, the former Leicester City and Sheffield United manager reminisced about a not-so-friendly pre-season friendly match against Longford Town in 2001 when he was in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion - a game that our League of Ireland pundit Stuart Byrne played in.

"We still call it the battle of Longford. It was a battle alright," said Adams.

"I think we had two sent off, they had one sent off. There was a bit of an altercation before half-time and we decided not to continue the game. That's not why we were in Ireland. We were there to get ourselves ready for the football season."

The 53-year-old also talked about the tough time after he departed Tranmere Rovers at the end of last season as the Merseyside club slid out of the Football League.

And he is delighted at making the move to Ireland after almost 20 years in management.

"Rather than go scouting round the country and be on the shoulders of people that are struggling, I decided to come to Ireland and I have to say, I think it's a great decision. I'm really enjoying it, I'm loving Sligo and the people there, but most importantly, I'm enjoying the players I'm working with and the football they're playing," he said, adding that his lack of previous knowledge about Irish domestic soccer could actually benefit him and his side.