Livingston boss David Martindale says he will likely have to work with a reduced budget and squad next term due to the uncertainty of fans returning to stadiums.
Martindale says he's hopeful spectators will be back inside grounds for the start of next season, but believes they are several weeks away from clarity on the subject.
That in turn has impacted his ability to plan for next year with the gaffer revealing he hasn't been able to sit down with any of his out of contract players and, while the board have agreed to underwrite any losses next term, he insists that doesn't mean he will spend over the agreed budget.
Speaking to the West Lothian Courier, he commented: "We’ve not sat down and spoken to anyone who’s out of contract.
“Nicky Devlin, Jon Guthrie and Josh Mullin all had options that have been picked up, so they’re all done. Nicky and Jon had one year options and Josh two, so they’ll all be here next season.
"It’s really difficult to do anything just now because we don’t know when fans are returning which in turn means we don’t really know what our budget is going to be.
“Last year we managed to sell Lyndon Dykes which covered a bit of a loss, but not all, but I don’t know what next year is going to look like.
“If we can only get 2000 fans in, yes that’s better but it’s still not 10,000 when Celtic and Rangers visit so there’s potentially going to be another black hole in our accounts next year."
He added: "John Ward (CEO) and Robert Wilson (chairman) have been very good and they’ve given me assurances that they’ll underwrite any losses but that doesn’t give me the right to go out and spend willy-nilly.
“There won’t be the same money that there was in previous seasons. It’s going to be difficult. I think we’ll need to run with a tighter squad and we’ll need to scout the lower leagues, but it is what it is.
"We finished last season fifth and lost out on £250,000 prize money."
Around a dozen of the current 32 members of the first team squad are either out of contract in the summer or will be returning to their parent clubs with the boss admitting those still at the club will make a large portion of next season's budget.
He commented: "We need to take it as it comes but if all the boys who are under contract for next season stay at the club, budget-wise I’ll not be a million miles away so it’s up to us to try and find new investment.
“Hopefully we can get a boost in season ticket sales - if we can get an extra 300 or so that would make a huge difference. Or if the Scottish Government come out and allow 50 per cent of fans back in the stadium but I don’t think we’re going to get that clarity for another six weeks or so.
"I’m confident in the players who are at the club. If we can keep everyone here who is under contract, I wouldn’t be overly worried. I think we’d have enough within the squad to get us to where we need to be - which is 10th place.
“Every year, our aim is to finish 10th and our budget is to finish 12th, which is generally around £1.2 million because then if we go down we’ve not lost as much as we might have done.
“The club has to come first. We run it sustainably but until we know how many fans are allowed in, we’re in the dark a wee bit and don’t know what next year is going to look like.”
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