Portsmouth No2 Tony Adams has revealed he paid his own way to get his coaching licence.

Adams started on the ladder at Wycombe but won just 20 of 53 games in a year before leaving, heading to the Continent to study coaching methods.

He said: "I paid to do my A licence - that's not cheap. From my home in the Cotswolds I'd leave at 5am, get the Channel tunnel train and go to Feyenoord in Holland where I would coach all age groups.

"I would do it in two-week cycles and quickly developed a system of working at different clubs that were relatively close geographically."

Now Adams is looking forward to Portsmouth's Wembley clash against Cardiff, admitting: "I just wish I could put on my boots and play."