At the age of 21, Danny Higginbotham found himself somewhat surplus to requirements at Manchester United - the club that he had supported since he was a boy.
They say that the only way is down once you departed Old Trafford, but a determined Higginbotham went on to have a long career playing for the likes Derby County, Southampton, Sunderland and Stoke City.
Having dropped into non-league football in an attempt to reignite his ailing passion for the game, the defender retired in 2014.
After some persuasion, Higginbotham, who now works within the media, recently released his autobiography - Rise of the Underdog - a fitting title for someone that had to overcome numerous obstacles during his playing career.
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Sports Mole caught up with the now 36-year-old to discuss his book, as well as his new career and what the future has in store for him after professional football.
What was it about now that felt right to release your autobiography?
"I was approached by the writer Wayne Barton, but to be honest, I had little interest in doing it initially. With autobiographies, there is a lot of sensationalism, pointing fingers and things like that, so I said no. If I was ever going to do my autobiography, it was going to be more of an honesty thing.
"Whether people wanted to read things like that, I didn't know because sometimes we like the sensationalism. Wayne, though, told me people would respect my way more. For me, it was a major condition that it had to be an honest account and that's what I've done. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone else.
"It's important in any walk of life that you take responsibility for everything that you've done - whether it's something good or something bad. Because of that, it seems people have appreciated it and that's why it's doing well."
Has all of the feedback that you have received been positive?
"It has, by everyone that has read it. That's great and very humbling. I've had the feedback that I wanted. What I'm doing now with the media side of things and what I did during my football career - my autobiography had to be the same. On the pitch I was honest, I had my limitations and I knew what I was good at and what I wasn't.
"Now I'm in the media, I like the think that I'm still honest and do not just say things for the sake of it. That's why my book had to go along the same lines because if not someone would have read the book, looked back on my career and what I do right now and asked which one of these isn't right - they wouldn't all run level with each other."
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In the book, you mention that in the latter stages of your career that your love for football was on the wane. Has working in the media restored that passion?
"The media did not necessarily bring an end to my career quicker, but it got me thinking about being away from the playing side. Don't get me wrong, the highs cannot be beaten. I hadn't had that for a good five years probably. I found myself going to games and I couldn't wait to get home and I didn't want that.
"It all came to a head in my last game when I played for Altrincham. I went there in the hope that it would rekindle by love for the game because it was more than just football. It was closer to my heart because it's where I grew up, but it didn't work. It had gone. There was a 50/50 challenge and I didn't go in for it because I didn't want to get hurt.
"I'd based my career on not necessarily going into challenges that could hurt me, but I wouldn't shirk anything. I knew it was completely gone then."
Has it been a surprise how quickly you seem to have progressed within the media? After all, you are now a regular on the likes of talkSPORT and BT Sport, as well as having a couple of newspaper columns.
"It's gone ridiculously quickly. If you rewind back to when I did completely retire, I was already doing media stuff, but it was bits here and bits there. But if you look at what I'm doing today, it's ridiculous. The rise is unbelievable and it's great. I'm really happy with it.
"People appreciate the honesty. I consider my main area and where I want to get better as the tactical part of football and the analysis side of things. You can do that when you're doing the commentary and I love doing that. Thankfully, whether I'm doing that or a show, I'm able to bring the tactical side of things to discussions.
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"I try to make things easier for people to understand and that seems to have come across well. If you don't follow football as intensely as say you or me, just someone that's watching it, you want things explained clearly. If I was to watch rugby or American football, there would be a lot of things that I did not understand. I'd need someone to explain why certain things were happening and that way you appreciate the game a lot more.
"That's what I'm trying to do and it seems to be working. If you're honest in everything that you do, you've got more than half a chance."
Is it hard to be as honest as you mention, particularly if you are talking about a former club or teammate? Is there a fear of upsetting people?
"No, because if you're constructive with it, I don't see it being an issue. Yes, if you individually pick somebody out, that could be tough, but you shouldn't be doing that. You see it with the referees now that have gone on to write columns. The insults they give to some of the currents referees, that's not the way to go about things.
"You can give constructive criticism, of course you can, but you've got to explain why. You can say someone has had an absolute stinker, as long as you turn around and explain why they have. There's a big difference between that and saying things to be controversial. That's not me and if I did that, I wouldn't be true to myself or be honest."
What does the future hold? Do you have a target or are you just going to see what happens?
"I want to be the best that I can be. I've not come into this for a bit of pocket money - that's not the reason I'm doing it. If you've had a good football career and you've looked after yourself financially, what you do next has got to be driven by passion. It's not about the financial gain.
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"That's something a lot of lads that have finished playing football find difficult. It's all about what is going to grab your passion. I was lucky in a way because for the last five years of my career, the love for football was going away all of the time. So, when I went into the media, the passion that I had for that was far greater than what I had left for football.
"Don't get me wrong, if you go back further than the five years, it's a different story. But, you've only got the last four or five years to reflect on and when you compare that to how I feel when I do a game or a show, there's no comparison."
Was there ever a temptation to go into coaching?
"I've been asked about it before, but I think when you go into a new career like coaching, a lot of the time it's 24/7. You have to concentrate solely on coaching. I'm not talking about Gary Neville, because he doesn't have to be 24/7 with England. He's the top man in terms of punditry.
"If you're coaching on a daily basis, you'd have to pick one or the other. You can't have that 24/7 as a coach and then try to do the media, because something is going to suffer. This is what I consider to be my career, so if that's the case, there should be no other work around it that would influence it. I didn't want anything to stop me from being as good as I can be.
"I came into this industry because I want to become one of the best commentators around, if not why go into anything? I want to be that little bit different and get to the top. I wouldn't bother doing it if that wasn't the case."
Danny Higginbotham Rise of the Underdog, RRP £16.99, available for just £11.99 here
Liam Apicella
