Striker celebrates career-best goal return after scoring eight in 14-1 cup victory - bringing season tally to 26 in only 12 matches

Adams has long been a ruthless finisher, scoring 21 last term, adding to totals of 27 and 23 respectively in the two campaigns prior, but not even the 32-year-old himself could have dreamt of achieving such heights which has kept him on track to achieve a pre-season target of averaging two goals per match.

He scored four before the break and another quadruple in the second-half, sailing past his previous match record of six with 30 minutes to play, but ever the perfectionist, Adams is also thinking about the chances he missed.

"I'll never do it again I'm sure!" he laughs. "It was brilliant.

"I missed a few and was frustrated at the start of the game because I had rounded the keeper and scored only for it to be called offside and I'd taken on a defender, rounded the keeper again and shot with my weaker left foot and hit the corner of the post and crossbar.

"It started off where I'd missed three chances that I'd usually back myself to score and then the goals flooded in after that. It could have been even more.

"I'm probably my harshest critic and going on the goals I did score and the chances I missed, I would have expected at least two more - it could have been double figures, but it wasn't to be.

"The target for each game is two, but then you hit four in the first-half and think 'what could be possible?'.

"I wanted to make it six and have a double hat-trick which is impressive and I got that with 30 minutes left to go and wanted to keep pushing.

"You're never happy with what you have - you always want more. Everything fell into place."

Having initially suggested Adams’ impressive tally had came in 13 matches, he’s quick to correct the record and he would know best – the forward is in charge of the club’s goal-tracking spreadsheet which provides healthy competition across the campaign.

“It's good fun and it spurs the boys on because when they see who is scoring goals it creates that bit of healthy rivalry,” he said. “David Brady had scored 15 in something like four games and closed the gap in absolutely no time...it was down to one goal before Saturday’s game and that has opened it up again!

“My thinking is if there are another couple of people that are trying to take the top goalscorer spot then it can only benefit the club.

"With the amount of goals we're scoring you'd hope to be lifting silverware at the end of the season and that's our aim."

It’s unsurprising to hear Adams has received plenty of interest from teams further up the Northern Irish football pyramid, but helping Newtownards RBL achieve silverware success would bring the ultimate satisfaction.

"I was a bit of a late starter and didn't play for my first team until I was 13 and only really started in secondary school,” he added. “I started off as a goalkeeper, then moved into centre-back, a winger and then eventually a striker, so I didn't play there until I was 18.

"I would get quite a few calls each summer from clubs in the Amateur League.

"There's probably 10 offers a season to go to a higher level but I've no real interest in a lot of travelling.

"For me, it's all about enjoyment and it's a band of brothers we have here.

"I've never seriously thought about leaving and I love where I am...I would take more pride in winning trophies here and maybe someday getting into the Amateur League than leaving and playing for another team higher up.”