But it is not a disaster - and not the end of the world.

In fact maybe, just maybe, it could be a blessing in disguise.

Either way there is no point now in dwelling on 'might-have-beens' or even of seeking to apportion blame for the Stags' relegation. The situation is as it is, and has to be lived with.

The only purpose in looking back now is to learn from the mistakes which have been made, and turn that knowledge to advantage in the bid to regain Football League status at the earliest opportunity.

Back in the 1980s when automatic relegation to the Conference was first introduced, and only one club dropped, our near neighbours from Lincoln City were the first to suffer, with Scarborough the club replacing them.

But I was present at Sincil Bank on the day that the Red Imps reclaimed their place in the League just one year later by beating Wycombe Wanderers - in front of a 9,432 crowd that was the best at the ground for 16 years.

Lincoln could not have been more positive after their relegation. They immediately raised eyebrows by announcing that they would remain full-time professional, and not only that, they also defiantly set about upgrading their stadium with a brand new main stand.

In those days the Conference - or Alliance Premier League as it was then known - was a league for the country's top part-time clubs, so Lincoln's positive acceptance of their situation played a major part in their return to the League at the first attempt.

Since then, clubs like Doncaster Rovers, Colchester United, Carlisle United and Hereford United have endured a similar fate, but all four have bounced back to the League stronger for the experience - even if not always at first try.

Nowadays it is much more difficult to come straight back up than it once was.

The Conference now is, in the parlance of my generation, Division Five in all but name.

You only have to look at the league table to see names like Aldershot …. Cambridge United …. Torquay United …. Exeter City …. York City …. Oxford United …. Rushden and Diamonds …. Kidderminster Harriers …. Halifax Town - all of these clubs with a Football League pedigree and many of them over several years.

And whereas in the early days of automatic promotion and relegation the Conference was essentially a part-time, truly non-League competition, nowadays very few clubs are still part-timers while the vast majority have grounds which would certainly not be out of place in the League.