The patience of Dunfermline Athletic's beleaguered players has finally snapped with first-team players preparing to lodge a formal complaint with the Scottish Football League regarding unpaid wages.

Staff are currently in the midst of a fourth successive month of delayed salaries while sources suggest unpaid bonuses could stretch back as far as October 2012.

PFA Scotland, the players' union, have been in regular dialogue with players from Dunfermline for several months, however with no end to the problems in sight, matters have come to a head.

The union now looks likely to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of the Dunfermline players.

Gavin Masterton, the club's majority shareholder, said this week: "It's tough, it's embarrassing but it's not the end of the world. It's not as though they've been paid 15%. It's better than than having no job at all."

Chairman John Yorkston addressed staff at the club's Pitreavie training base on Thursday afternoon, but has failed to alleviate the concerns of the players.

SFL rule 127 states a club cannot "breach any term of a player's contract or agreement". However, unlike the Scottish Premier League, there are no automatic sanctions for contract defaults and a complaint must officially be lodged with the league before the case is judged on its individual merits.

Speaking recently, Dunfermline goalkeeper Paul Gallacher summed up the frustration regarding the financial situation at the club.

The former Scotland internationalist said: "The uncertainty is the problem, if we were being told things then we could accept them and plan but we have no idea what is happening at the club day-to-day, let alone at the end of the month."

Dunfermline plan to launch their delayed share issue next week which they hope will raise between £300,000 and £500,000 and alleviate the financial pressure on the club.