Port Vale's players have been formally introduced to new manager Micky Adams on their return to pre-season training.
Adams held a meeting with the squad on Wednesday where he told them pre-season is a time when each individual player has to go it alone.
He told BBC Radio Stoke: "Although it's a team game, from a footballer's point of view pre-season is a time when you are self-employed."
Adams returned to club management in June after a second spell at Brighton.
The former Fulham and Leicester City boss is currently working on his own at Vale Park but he intends to fill the club's vacant player-coach role.
Adams is not being drawn on a time-scale for the appointment but he has confirmed he will be talking to a couple of potential candidates before the end of this week.
The start of pre-season training also saw the squad welcome three new recruits Adam Yates, Doug Loft and Tom Fraser.
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