Adams will face the Blades on Saturday for the first time since he was dismissed by the club in the summer of 2011.
Adams left Vale flying high at the top of League Two just after Christmas in 2010 to take over at the club he supported as a boy. However, he could not save them from relegation from the Championship and soon returned to Burslem to pick up the pieces after Jim Gannon's ill-fated reign as boss.
"To be honest, I would have preferred to have gone anywhere else," said Adams ahead of the game. "People are talking about it because it's Micky Adams going back, but to me it's just another game and my only concern is taking Vale there and playing well."
On his brief spell in charge of the Blades, Adams said: "I still maintain, given time, that I would have done the job and taken United back up. No-one was more disappointed than me that I wasn't given longer, but that was the decision of the owner and the board of directors.
"But I don't bear or hold grudges, I just move on. I'm still a Sheffield United fan at heart and the club has been a big part of my life."
