LANCASTER'S City face almot certain relegation from the Conference North after league bosses deducted 10 points from their tally.
The Dolly Blues knew they would lose the points after new owner Mick Hoyle was left with no alternative than to take the club into administration when he ousted Charlie Moore.
Moore, a former taxi driver, left the club in the midst of a crisis when shareholders voted him out.
He had been locked out of the club's Dolly Blue Tavern by bailifs and players left City as they had not been paid.
A spokesman for the Conference says: "We do have symapthy with Lancaster's predicament but the only option we can take is to deduct the points from any club entering administration."
The deduction leaves City stranded on minus one points with just 13 games to play.
That means they can only reach 38 points if they win all their remaining matches with the club's on the edge of the drop zone already on 29 points.
Hoyle and City boss Barrie Stimpson have been planning for relegation ever since they arrived at the club.
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