Dunfermline have 14 players who are out of contract in the summer which is not the best timing when the side has just been relegated. Their last hope of SPL survival was extinguished by Hibs on Monday within 15 minutes of the start of the game. Manager Jim Jefferies will be speaking to the board on Tuesday about their plans for season 2012-13 and what budget he will have to work with. This leave players like Gary Mason in limbo about their future. The midfielder is one of the unlucky 14 players out of contract this summer and knows all about being told their is not new deal on the table. Mason was freed by St Mirren in 2009 and trained alone during the summer before he was offered a short-term deal at Hamilton. He does not want to go through that again. Mason said: "We are in limbo. A lot of the boys are out of contract and whatever the club decide to do is out of our hands, we have to wait and see what happens. I was involved in getting the team promoted which was nice but it shows you how things can turn around. It's hard to get out of your head what happened on Monday night. We didn't win enough games to stay up and it's not a nice thing, obviously, and the feeling is still stuck in my throat. But it's the reality and you have to deal with it and see what the future holds." If given the nod of a new deal next week, Mason has promised to give his all next season in order to help the Fifers return to the SPL at the first time of asking. He said: "I have been here a number of years and had great times here, I have really enjoyed it. It's obviously not nice when you get relegated but it's about how you bounce back. The First Division is never an easy league to get out of. It is a contrast to the SPL but that's where you want to play your football, you want to test yourself against the best. I'm sure young players coming through will think the same. The challenge is to get out first time of asking, that's the aim."
Source: FOOTYMAD
