After a hugely disappointing campaign, Notts County are now staring into the abyss as they prepare for life outside of the Football League.

It has been a mighty fall of grace for the Magpies, last year they found themselves challenging for a place in the League Two play-off final at Wembley, but three managers after, they now find themselves in dire straits both on and off the pitch.

Big things were expected of the Magpies before this season.

After cruelly missing out to Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals last season, the East Midlands club spent huge amounts of money on players who had established themselves as quality assets in League Two.

But fast forward 10 months, and those signings are merely a mark on the club’s first ever relegation to the National League, for the first time in their 157-year history.

Those players, such as Enzio Boldewijn and Kristian Dennis, have simply failed to perform this season, however this cannot be said for Kane Hemmings.

The striker, who signed for a sizeable six-figure fee from Oxford United in the summer, scored 14 goals for Notts in all competitions this season, in his efforts to keep the club’s prestigious World’s Oldest Football League club intact.

The experienced front-man even stepped up to the plate on the final day of the season, scoring a penalty against Swindon Town which kept Notts up for the best part of 10 minutes.

But the 27-year-old’s goals were unable to save the Magpies, however he is a player that Magpies fans wouldn’t begrudge if he moves onto bigger and better things this summer.

A proven goalscorer with Oxford, Barnsley and Dundee, Notts fans are probably resigned to losing a player of Hemmings’ calibre in the summer, and with the club in limbo off the pitch with its ownership up in arms.

After an impressive season individually, he needs to be one of the first players to exit Meadow Lane in the summer for the sake of his career.