Gavin Masterton will lodge a petition at the Court of Session in Edinburgh this morning requesting that the company which owns Dunfermline Athletic is put into administration.

However, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will also proceed with their petition for a liquidator to be appointed, after yesterday's 5pm deadline for a £134,000 tax bill to be paid was missed.

A judge will now decide on the fate of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club Ltd. Herald Sport understands contact was made with HMRC yesterday, and they informed that they will press ahead with the winding up order that was served eight days ago. However, some sources believe they may not argue their case in court today or try to obstruct administration. No assumptions can be made, although the decision is based on the best possible outcome for creditors, and that is generally considered to be administration.

In the event of such an outcome, Dunfermline's game against Falkirk tonight will take place, but the club will be subject to a points sanction. The Scottish Football League board will determine the extent of that punishment, since there is no set sanction in the rules. Dundee were deducted 25 points when they went into administration for the second time in 2010.

Should a liquidator be appointed, though, tonight's game would not go ahead and the Dunfermline players will need to find new clubs as free agents before Friday, the final registration deadline for this season. All Dunfermline's results in this campaign would be wiped from the records.

Masterton has asked Bryan Jackson, the experienced PKF insolvency practitioner, to carry out the administration of DAFCL. Jackson completed the administrations of Clyde, Clydebank, Motherwell and Dundee. If approved by the court, Dunfermline's administration will be underwritten by funds from fans and local businesses, however Jackson would still have to cut costs.

"We are back in the game," said Jim Leishman, the former Dunfermline manager. "It was either liquidation, when we would have been done and dusted, or this. Now we still have a chance and hopefully this will lead to the long-term sustainability of Dunfermline. People want us to survive and we have to be optimistic. Last week it looked like we would have no jobs and no future.

"We need to try and be positive, although you cannot guarantee where we will be in a few months. Dunfermline is an institution and I am sure supporters will come out in their numbers.

"The player's union, PFA Scotland, are happy with the appointment [of Jackson] because he has done it before and he knows exactly what is required. I am comfortable with Bryan taking over and hopefully it will work out. I have had a lot of sleepless nights over the past three weeks and it is not a nice situation to be."

There are difficulties to overcome in the pursuit of a Company Voluntary Arrangement to exit administration. This requires 75% of the creditors to vote in favour of a pence in the pound deal on their debt, with Dunfermline owing Masterton and various directors £8.4m and business creditors a further £450,000.

By serving the winding up order, HMRC have positioned themselves as the leading creditor, and they rejected the CVA proposed by Rangers last summer. DAFCL also have no assets beyond the club's brand, league share, SFA membership and the players' contracts.

There is also the question of Masterton's 94% shareholding. He would need to agree to that being transferred to any new owner who buys the club out of administration by funding a successful CVA. However, he could also sign over control of his shareholding to Jackson as part of his appointment as administrator, and so allow Jackson full control of the process.

The stadium and a successful events business is owned by East End Park Ltd, which is also part of Masterton's failing Charlestown House group. EEP Ltd, which owes Lloyds Bank £12m, will inevitable fall into administration as a consequence of DAFCL going into administration. A different administrator would be appointed, though. Any potential buyer would want to purchase the club and the stadium, preferably through successful CVAs, but that process will be complicated. It is also thought that Masterton might seek to raise enough funds himself to buy the stadium back then lease it to the club, a move that would be hugely unpopular in the local community. Leishman confirmed that Masterton played no part in securing funds to instigate the administration process, and insisted the former Bank of Scotland executive is "having a hard time".

Jim Jefferies admitted that the players' mental state will be affected by the outcome of today's court petitions. However, he welcomed the potential appointment of Jackson because of his previous experience in dealing with football insolvencies.

"We've heard he is a decent guy but he still has a job to do," the Dunfermline manager said. "And people have to accept that he may be ruthless. Right now we're all in the dark. How do you know how the players will feel? They won't do anything intentionally but their minds are totally scrambled right now."