THE eagerly awaited decision on whether troubled Darlington Football Club has a long-term future will be made only days after the end of the season.

Administrator Wilson Field said yesterday that the verdict could come in the week beginning May 10, two days after the Quakers' last game.

Until then, the fate of the 121-year-old club lies in the hands of George Reynolds and would-be owners the Sterling Consortium.

Sterling, the finance group that loaned the former chairman nearly £4m to complete work on the Reynolds Arena, is reluctantly trying to take over the playing side of the business as a way of protecting its investment.

The group has already bought the stadium, but is facing an obstacle in its attempt to take over the club.

Mr Reynolds, the club's largest creditor, had said he will block any Sterling-funded deal unless the group dropped a bankruptcy case against him.

However, those proceedings are now under way and will resume next month in Newcastle.

If Mr Reynolds were to be made bankrupt, his vote as a creditor on any rescue package would pass to the Official Receiver or a trustee in bankruptcy.

But the hearing will not necessarily have a large influence on the club's future, according to joint administrator David Field.

He said: "It will be part of our discussions when we sit down at the end of the season, but it will not be a big part of it.

"It is now between George and Sterling to reach an agreement. If there is an agreement, we will get a voluntary arrangement out to creditors.

"If there is not an agreement, there almost certainly will not be a club next season."

The administrator has already been instructed to liquidate the club if it has not been sold, or if a voluntary arrangement has not been proposed, by Thursday.

That would not happen immediately, and administrators are hopeful of securing a deal, but Sterling and Mr Reynolds are said to be nowhere near a settlement.

If a takeover deal were possible, it would also have to be ratified by the Football League.