Adams told Sky Blue World: "It's a serious situation that the Club's in. I'll be working with the players trying to improve them, but there's no quick fix - I'm not a magician.
"I can only work with the players that I've got. So far the players are giving me everything that they've got but there's things that we need to improve on. If we do we'll get results.
"The nucleus of a decent team is there but we need to add to the squad and that's what we're trying to do. We've got a decent set of lads and they try to implement what I want.
"They've got to grasp it, because if they don't they might not be in the team next week, if I can do the business that I'm trying to do. It's not easy. We're trying to strengthen in all areas and we're close to achieving that."
Adams has been backed by Burnley boss Steve Cotterill who said: "I've spoken to him a few times on the phone and he was getting down a bit because he was missing it.
"I think he needed to get back sooner or later and he has. He probably turned a few jobs down waiting for the right one and this season may be a struggle for him but I'm sure he'll do well in the future."