As they near the end of their careers, big-name players often look for a project to move into.

If they're interested in coaching they might drop down a division or two. They might feel that they need a challenge into their thirties and look to be effective at a lower level.

Jason Shackell swapped Derby for Lincoln City in the summer with great success and in the past players like Peter Beagrie have played on into their forties with plenty still to offer.

At 36-years-old, former Nottingham Forest midfielder David Vaughan must have seen Notts County as the obvious move. Whilst the rivalry across the Trent is fierce when the sides are at the same level, there's little vitriol in players swapping red for black, certainly not like Newcastle and Sunderland.

Vaughan will have recognised the ambition the Magpies were showing, signing Kane Hemmings, Enzio Boldewijn and Kristian Dennis in the summer. They were huge captures and marked Kevin Nolan's side out as ones to watch.

Seven months and three managers later, the dream has died. The Magpies, the world's oldest professional football club, are on the verge of becoming a non-league side. They're seven points adrift of safety and out of form.

Where does that leave Vaughan? He's been capped 42 times by Wales, played in Spain with Real Sociedad and was part of the Blackpool team that made the Premier League. The move to Notts County was supposed to bring a late piece of silverware, the League Two title.

Vaughan must be lamenting his luck, the club has collapsed around his ears and the current incumbent of the manager's role, Neal Ardley, is trying to put the broken pieces together.

He's relying on a veteran midfielder, too, but not Vaughan. 37-year-old Michael Doyle has been brought in to help the cause and Vaughan is now sitting on the bench, his swansong season in tatters.

He must be regretting the move, a sad and lonely end to a stellar career. As the Magpies lurch from one crisis to the next, sacked managers, administration threats and relegation worries, the former Forest man must be considering hanging up his boots.

He's seen football's ugly side, the struggle and strife that comes with being a lower league footballer and maybe his impressive career is going to come to an end because of it.