THIS is the time of year when the managerial hopeful peeks his head above the parapet, nudges the arm of potential employers and looks to work again.

It is tempting to suggest that Derek Adams, one of this ravenous breed, is coming out of a period of hibernation but migration might be a better term. Since he was sacked by Ross County in August, he has flown to other climes in search of relaxation, consolation and education.

After a break in Florida, he received all three in San Sebastian. He watched Real Sociedad play Grenada and then had a chat with Davie Moyes, who had endured the same fate as Adams but in much larger type.

The manager of Manchester United, though, had a lesson for the ex-manager of Ross County.

"I have known him since I did my pro licence at Everton and he was brilliant with me," says Adams. "I wanted to know what it was like being out the game, what I should expect and what I should be doing. He gave me excellent advice that basically involved seeing as much football as possible and learning from what was in front of me and what was behind me."

In the eight months since Ross County, Adams has watched 80 games live: development matches, reserve matches, SPFL matches and some more exotic.

"When I was in Spain I watched La Liga but I also went to Marbella where Dinamo Kiev, Basel, Freiburg and Mainz where on their mid-season breaks. This gave me the chance to see how different teams from differing cultures train and I had the opportunity of speaking with Paulo Sousa of Basel and watch how a Champions League side prepares."

His odyssey did not end there. He also travelled to Chicago to spend a week with Shaun Maloney who had just signed for the Fire ("I have known him since he was a boy. My dad signed him for Celtic") and to Wigan where the manager then was Uwe Rosler who subsequently suffered the fate of most managers.

So what has Adams learned in his exile from the managerial dug-out?

"The first thing is to be positive. Sometimes it works out for the best. It was a huge disappointment leaving Ross County and it came from nowhere but the break has helped me. It has refined some of my ideas and made me more convinced of others."

Adams, who admits he is obsessed with the game, has been involved professionally in the sport since he was 16, playing for such as Aberdeen, Ross County and Motherwell, before being a professional coach for seven years at Ross County and at Hibernian. At 39, he has managed in 300 matches and has been a manager of the year as recently as 2012.

His expertise has rarely been called into doubt but he has earned a reputation as a prickly, difficult character, with rows with the SFA and other managers.

"I probably needed a chance to step away from it all," he says. "I now feel I can look at people and situations in a different manner. I have probably mellowed a wee bit."

He is, however, unapologetic about his role in media controversies at Ross County. "We were a small club and sometimes I had to speak out. If other managers - such as those with the Old Firm or the New Firm - had said what I said then not much would have been made of it."

His "mellowness" has not blunted his drive or his assessment of his talents. He is rightly bullish about his achievements at Ross County where he took the team to two promotions, two Challenge Cup finals and a Scottish Cup final.

"If I had done that at a Kilmarnock or St Mirren it would have been recognised more," he says.

This brings the conversation abruptly but inevitably to the vacant St Mirren job. He will not discuss the specifics of any post or application but does lay out a managerial manifesto.

"I am looking for the right club with ambition to get to a higher level. I want to work with people who have a drive and vision for a club and who want to promote youngsters," he says.

He is gracious to Roy MacGregor, the chairman at Ross County, who dismissed him. "He gave me a budget for the year and allowed me to manage," he says.

His experience before Ross County and after has crystallised what he believes is essential at every club.

"Everyone must be pulling in the right direction. It was a family at Ross County and so progress was made. In the team, you must have a structure and a stringent ethos in training which focuses on organisation," he says.

"But Scottish football must bring players through and that is what should be a priority at any club. I loved that at Ross County. I loved talking to the young boys at matches on a Saturday morning before going to the first-team match. It showed them I was interested in them enough to spend time with them on match day," he says.

Asked if he learned this from another Manchester United manager, he replies: "Maybe. When I was five my dad was a coach at Aberdeen and I would spend time in the gym watching Fergie and Archie Knox arguing about a game of head tennis."

He pauses, before adding: "I miss Saturdays. I miss the pressure. I enjoy pressure because it asks you questions."