NOTTS County should be a League One club. In fact, they have the potential to be better than that.

But, as things stand, I am sad to say that they never will be. In fact, unless something changes, I don't think they will ever be far away from the next potential crisis.

Because you cannot have a football club that is run by the fans. You just can't. It does not work.

Don't get me wrong. I would not fault the commitment of the Supporters Trust. I would not dare to question their integrity, their good intentions or their love for the club they support.

And, as a former player who still has a very big soft spot for the Magpies, I wholeheartedly thank them for saving the club, when it was in real danger of going under.

I really do. Some of these people, who were just normal fans, deserve medals for what they achieved, when things could easily have been very different.

But you cannot have football fans running a football club. It just does not work and it never will.

There is just too much passion; too much emotion – they are not capable of taking a step back and seeing the bigger picture.

A football club needs to be run with the head, more than the heart.

And that is why, until they find somebody who is prepared to invest in the club and take it out of the hands of the Trust, I will continue to be worried about the future.

Now I am sure that the majority of those involved with the Trust would be only too delighted to see the club attract some investment.

And I am certain that every single member of the group has the best interests of Notts County at heart.

But I also hope that the lure of being involved in the running of the club they support, the glamour of being involved in the club hierarchy and all that entails, is not an influence to anyone.

It remains a mystery to many why the interest from Adam Pearson, who is now chairman of Derby County, was ended so abruptly, when he would, on the face of things, have been an ideal investor in the club.

He has certainly done a good job at Pride Park since he turned up there.

What matters now is that, if there is any genuine interest in the club, the potential investors are encouraged and enticed, that everything possible is done to get them on board.

I'd love to see Notts back in the Championship or even higher – after all, it is not so long since they were in the top flight. Nothing is impossible.

They have a superb stadium, a bright, progressive young manager, a potential for a bigger fan base and a proud, proud history.

It is clubs like Notts County that help to make football great. They are part of the fabric of the English game.

And, if the likes of Wigan and Reading can go on to be Premiership clubs – and they were both similar sized clubs to the Magpies not much more than a decade ago – then Notts should have the same aspirations.

I know it is a very long way off, when you are talking about a side that is currently sitting in mid-table in League Two.

That does not mean it is impossible, however. Notts went from the Third Division to the top flight under Neil Warnock in rapid time and there is no reason why they can't do the same again.

But the situation at the minute does not look good. And, with the greatest of respect to them – genuinely – I fear nothing will happen while the club remains in the hands of its supporters.