A COMBINED 200 miles separates Sauchie from the grounds of Cove and Berwick Rangers, but their influence over the Reds' future couldn't be greater.

East of Scotland league bosses confirmed on Monday night a decision on Sauchie's Superleague fate would have to wait until after the culmination of the League Two play-off.

Cove hold a 4-0 lead over the SPFL side with the second-leg taking place on Saturday.

And while chiefs hinted the Reds' sixth placed finish would be enough to secure a place in the new league, Iain Diack and his squad remain in limbo until they are given official confirmation.

For Diack and his coaching staff, frustration is building as they haven't been able to offer any of their players new deals until the situation is sorted.

And speaking to Advertiser Sport, first team coach Darren Petrie said the side have no-one to blame but themselves for failing to secure fifth place.

Petrie, one of Diack's summer signings last term, said: "It's down to ourselves for not finishing in fifth place.

"I've spoken to Noel (Dalli) and it's frustrating for ourselves as it's really just a waiting game now.

"We need to find out where we are going to be first before we can start planning with the players.

"It's frustrating for the three of us, but that's the way with smaller clubs like ourselves. We need to take it year-by-year.

"We have spoken to the players and hopefully they understand that we need to wait to sort this out.

"A few of them might even have offers from other clubs at the moment, but we just need to wait and see what is going to happen with these games."

Sauchie missed out on automatic qualification for the Superleague by a single point; however, Petrie believes the side were unlucky to find themselves in the toughest of all the East of Scotland leagues.

The 23-year-old added: "We slipped up in a lot of games during the season and lost late goals which would have made the difference.

"If they had gone in our favour it would have made a difference.

"We were in the hardest league for sure and our points total would have been enough to secure top five in other leagues."