Nicky Adams makes the art of winning promotion sound deceptively easy. "At Northampton we just worked hard, gave 110 per cent and the rest took care of itself," says Carlisle United's latest signing.

It is, naturally, more complicated than that - so perhaps Adams' words say more about his own personality than the jigsaw puzzle that must be completed in order for any team to go up a division.

The winger, who has signed a two-year-deal, does not claim to be one of life's worriers, or a player who will often be found facing the wrong way on the pitch.

It is a state of mind that has contributed to successive League Two successes - last term with the Cobblers, and Bury the year before - and whatever else Carlisle have acquired in the 29-year-old, they have certainly got themselves a positive individual.

"I'm just a happy-go-lucky kid," he says. "I just want to play football. I'm enthusiastic and I work hard. If I can come here and entertain people - get bums off seats - I'll be more than happy."

So will United's supporters, who are craving a campaign of glory after several of struggle and then last season's improvement to mid-table under Keith Curle.

Adams certainly arrives with good experience of life at the higher end. Last season with Northampton he made 45 appearances in all competitions, most of them starts, as Chris Wilder's team surged to the fourth-tier title by a 13-point margin.

It was a remarkable campaign to which Adams proudly says he contributed 17 assists. Serving strikers he describes as his bread and butter, although one of his three goals of 2015/16 was also significant: a header against Bristol Rovers on April 9, in a 2-2 draw that ensured promotion.

"That was a rare one," he smiles. "The only header I scored before that was an own-goal. But yeah - it was an important goal, the day when we got promoted. A massive goal.

"When I spoke to the gaffer here that's one thing over the last couple of years that I've not done as much as I should have - scored goals. I always know I'm going to set goals up, I pride myself on it, but hopefully here I can get towards double figures."

Adams' arrival is regarded by Curle and his recruitment chief Lee Dykes as something of a coup. Discussions were kept a closely-guarded secret, for fear of alerting others in Leagues One and Two about the winger's availability.

Yesterday Curle also revealed how he had tried to pounce on Northampton's mid-season financial crisis and strike an opportunistic deal for Adams in January. In the event the Cobblers were taken over and so did not need to part with assets.

Yet now, Wilder's departure to Sheffield United and the installation of Rob Page at the Sixfields Stadium appear to be the chain of events that have led Adams to Cumbria at last.

"I still had a contract at Northampton, but [now] they're going in a different direction," Adams says. "The manager [Wilder], who I had a great relationship with, left for Sheffield United, the new manager has come in and has his own ideas. Things change in football. It's nice to be wanted and Keith has got real ambition for the club, and really sold it for me.

"I'm absolutely delighted. It's been a long time coming, and as soon as the gaffer [Curle] phoned and asked if I'd like to come I jumped at the chance.

"This is a great club. Every time I've played here [at Carlisle] the fans get behind their team."

Adams and the Blues have indeed crossed paths before. He recalls being part of the Bury side that whipped a post-Graham Kavanagh Carlisle team 3-0 at Brunton Park in September 2014. A couple of years earlier Adams scored in a 2-0 win for Crawley at United's ground.

Those feats came some years after Adams first made his mark as a bright young thing at Bury, where his dynamic displays earned a move to Leicester. Loans at Rochdale and Leyton Orient followed, while his career has also seen stints at Brentford and Rotherham.

United are his fifth club since early 2014, yet despite this busy CV there seems good logic in hiring someone so well-versed in helping teams get out of League Two at the right end. It is believed the winger was firmly at the top of Curle's priority list as he sought players who could add creativity to last season's 10th-placed squad.

"I had a few different people phone me and wanted me to go and speak to them, but after speaking to the gaffer and Lee about their plans, it was a no-brainer," Adams says.

"I think it's going to come as a real surprise to many people. But things happen in football. The new manager [Page] has his own ideas and I wish him all the best because it's a special group and I hope they go on and do really well.

"I had a special year last year, with a special group of boys and a really good club, and I can't thank everyone there enough. It's always disappointing leaving somewhere you've enjoyed yourself so much - I've spoken to some of the boys and they're all gutted, although some are happy to see the back of me because I do their heads in.

"But you don't want to be waiting around. I had a few offers to speak to other people, League One and Two level, but [Carlisle] just felt right. I didn't feel I needed to speak to anybody else. I think I've got to repay the faith Keith has shown in me."

Adams, a former Rochdale team-mate of Carlisle midfielder Jason Kennedy, says United need not be shy about their hopes for 2016/17. He is encouraged that Curle has also spoken so clearly about where the Blues will be aiming.

"The main aim is to get promoted, that's what we spoke about," Adams says. "We want to play good, attacking football. There'll be some games where we have to dig in, others when we won't play so well but win, others when we play unbelievably and don't win. But I'm impressed with what the gaffer said.

"I just want to win, it's the way I am. The last two years I've been promoted out of this league. I've got real ambition. If I can bring that enthusiasm on the pitch and give fans something they want to see, that's good.

"We want to be up there. I've come here to get promoted. It's a difficult task but it won't be for the want of trying. I'll give 110 per cent - anyone who knows me will testify to that."

Curle believes Adams can be a versatile addition, rather than someone who will simply stay tight to the whitewash on the wing. United's boss says the new signing can play on the left, the right or through the middle.

This ought to be useful for a manager who seldom allows things to settle for long, tactically. Asked about his own attributes, Adams described himself as a creator, someone who prefers to give the opposition problems before anything else. "I'm an attack-minded midfielder, I like to get on the ball and try to make things happen," he says. "I've set up a lot of goals at my other clubs, and if I can do that here I'll be more than happy."

Adams shook hands with Curle and signed his contract yesterday at a ground still halfway down the road to recovery after the floods. There was no obvious evidence of last December's crisis when he spoke to the media beside the sun-bathed pitch - but before then he had seen the portable offices around the stadium, and walked through the still out-of-use main reception area, where industrial dryers were blasting away inside the manager's office and boardroom.

Hopefully, come August, Brunton Park will be more itself again, while Adams hopes success on the pitch will give further cheer to the community. "Obviously it was a tragedy, what happened, and really unfortunate for the people here, but football galvanises people," he said. "A good team can help people put all that stuff behind them and give them something to look forward to on a Saturday and Tuesday. Hopefully me and the lads can do that."

What that side will look like is still to be determined, with Curle and Dykes facing much more recruitment work before 2016/17's squad is shaped. It may, though, feel a little better equipped for the presence of Adams, whose last experience of League Two was the moment he got his hands on the winners' trophy.

"It's a tough league," he says, "but with the lads already here, and a few more to come in - plus the gaffer's ambition - we'll have a chance."