Micky Adams is about to begin his second season in charge at Port Vale

Port Vale manager Micky Adams believes League Two newcomers Stevenage and Oxford United will be strong contenders for promotion this season.

"The teams relegated from League One will be up there, you can't write them off," Adams told BBC Radio Stoke.

"Also the two teams that came up from the Blue Square Premier, Oxford and Stevenage, will be particularly strong.

"Then you don't write off teams like Bury and ourselves, so I think it will be a tough league this year."

Vale finished 10th in League Two last season, four points away from a play-off place.

Meanwhile, assistant manager Geoff Horsfield is confident that strikers Marc Richards and Justin Richards can form a good partnership this season.

Marc Richards was Vale's top scorer in 2009/10 with 23 goals, while Justin Richards netted 15 times for Cheltenham before moving to Vale Park in June.

"As a partnership they seem to have gelled really well," Horsfield told BBC Radio Stoke.

"They've done really well in pre-season and they need to take that into the league games.

"They've got fantastic ability and they've got the knack of scoring goals, so hopefully together they can be a formidable partnership."

Vale begin the season with a trip to Bury on Saturday.

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