Lewis McGugan explains the collapse of his career and why he really left Nottingham Forest

Lewis McGugan fought back a tear late into a trial match for Scunthorpe United in early 2019.

He had not played professionally in over a year, since a short stint at Northampton Town. Dragged down by constant futile attempts to get back into the game, this was his final push to make sure a 3-1 defeat to Portsmouth was not the last appearance of his career at the age of 29.

He felt he played well, but once again, it was a no. That was the final straw for the midfielder. Fans will be baffled how a career which was so bright had fallen so far. McGugan was a key player for Nottingham Forest, had success under Gianfranco Zola at Watford and initially flourished at Sheffield Wednesday. But after that game for Scunthorpe went nowhere, he knew it was over.

He told this week's Garibaldi Red podcast it was a relief to accept the end after a nightmare spell at Wednesday - where he was frozen out for a year - damaged his mental health and changed him as a person, as he tried to explain just what went wrong.

"There's so many elements to it. Is there stuff I could have done better? Could I have made different decisions? One hundred percent. There's also stuff I had to go through. My time at Sheffield Wednesday ruined my career," he said.

"I was in the wilderness. There was nothing I could do. That period changed my career. There was a gap where everyone was thinking what happened? Some of the stuff took it's toll on me. I went through such a bad period I didn't realise at the time what it was doing to me mentally. Growing up and being in football, it was different then. You show weakness and there's no place for it.

"You create a shield and it's sad for me. When I got away from the club (Wednesday) I wasn't the same person or player.