Gary Oliver was seven starts short of triggering a contract extension with Queen of the South when the coronavirus shutdown denied him that chance.
Now as he faces up to a spell on the scrapheap he admits he may have to fill the gap by grafting with his dad’s plastering firm.
But the 24-year-old feels lucky – because he realises some of his colleagues will have nothing to fall back on.
The former Hearts striker, whose case is being looked at by the players’ union, is one of 16 first-team members at Queens who have been told they’ll not be offered deals when their current ones expire in the coming two-and-a-half weeks.
Oliver, who had racked up 13 Championship starts for Allan Johnston ’s side with eight matches left, said: “I was a few games away from triggering the second year on my contract so it’s not ideal.
“I needed 20 league starts but with the season finishing early, I was denied that chance.
“There were games left to be played so I don’t know how it works. I could have hit the 20 mark. We are looking at that just now along with the PFA to see what the deal is.
“It’s not a nice situation but we are all in the same boat so just need to see what is going to happen and wait for a time when clubs can start making a decision on players.
“I’m trying not to be too down about it. I believe everything happens for a reason so you never know.
“If I need to find other work then I could go and help my dad with his plastering company so I’m quite lucky that way.
“Other players with families and children are in a far worse situation.
“It’s really worrying across the whole game. I reckon a lot of clubs could really struggle to recover from this.
“It’s not a good situation. There will be hundreds of players all looking for a job over the summer and you don’t even know when the game is going to start back up.
“You could be going without pay for months and for some that’s a serious problem.”
Oliver and his team mates have been on the government’s furlough scheme since the Covid crisis struck and he admits he found it “a bit strange” Queens chose not to extend contracts until the end of June to help struggling players.
Instead they received a call from devastated boss Johnston telling them their contracts weren’t being renewed.
He said: “We all got a call from the manager and he was gutted breaking the news, it’s not a nice job for anyone.
“It’s a left a few boys struggling.
“I think the rest of the boys are taking stock of what has happened and when football might be returning.
“It’s a case that we know we might have to get a new job.”
