Former Nottingham Forest star Lewis McGugan has admitted that his struggles to find a new club.
The 31-year-old has been a free agent since leaving Northampton Town in January 2018 and has not played first-team football since December 2017, which was a 3-1 defeat to Portsmouth.
McGugan began his career at the City Ground and went on to play for us for seven years, scoring 43 goals and providing 27 assists in 224 appearances, as per TransferMarkt.
After leaving to join Watford in 2013, it was believed that his talent hadn’t developed on Trentside. But the main question is, why is he still a free agent to this day?
“There’s a lot of factors,” McGugan told talkSPORT.
“I’ve got to look at myself, which I have done. But I also think I’ve been a bit unlucky in certain situations and things probably haven’t gone the way I thought they would.
Was Lewis McGugan's time at Forest a success?
Yes
No
“You’ve just got to try to stay positive. It’s not a great position to be in, but I’ve still got faith in my own ability. I know what I can produce and what I can do, given the right circumstances.”
The midfielder also spoke about how his two sons have kept him going through the difficult days of not playing regular football.
“There are times I’ve been real, real low,” he said. “My two boys have kept me going really at times.“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what my mindset would be. But I’ve got a job, I’m a dad, and they look up to me. I’ve got to keep going for them; that’s all I’m trying to do.
“I look at things from a completely different angle as a dad. Those tough days and those days you’re down, you have your time, but once you see their faces it reminds you what you’re doing and what you’re going through.”
Fans have described his absence from league football as a “modern-day travesty” after his fall from grace (as per Football League World). After spells with Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and Northampton Town, he has not played a minute of football since.
It’s astounding that he has not been snapped up by another club. Any non-league club that captures him would virtually guarantee them a route into league football, as some fans have said.
There will never be a definitive answer as to why McGugan didn’t flourish. But what can’t be taken away from him is his loyalty to us and his commitment to our football club.
