May started with more bad news as Keith Hogg confirmed that he would miss the rest of the season following the injury sustained at Lochee back in March. Hoggy had been outstanding for the Rose on a sustained basis and he – like Greig Denham – would be sorely missed.

Rose made the short trip over to Kelty on league business. In addition to the loss of Hogg and Denham, McArthur and Bradley were not fit to take a place in the squad. The Rose fought out a 2-2 draw but added to their injury woes as Gordon Herd suffered a broken ankle to end his season.

Brian Fairley was the early favourite to take over as manager at Linlithgow. In the meantime though, Gordon Rae was confirmed as manager until the end of the season.

Games were coming thick and fast now as Rose faced up to title challengers Whitburn in the Dechmont Forklift cup. The players delivered an excellent performance and dominated the majority of the game. Colin Strickland’s superb injury time strike to finish the game at 3-2 flattered the opposition who chased shadows for most of the night. Again, the Rose faithful were left to wonder how a team capable of such quality could struggle so badly on other occasions.

Before they headed over to Fife to see off Crossgates on the dreichest of days, Rose confirmed Brian Fairley as their new manager with effect from the start of the 2008/09 season. Fairley had a reputation as an excellent manager within the junior and senior ranks and his appointment was warmly welcomed by the supporters.

Newtongrange were next for the Rose as they sought a semi final spot in the Fife & Lothians cup. Carrigan and Grady put Rose 2 up in the opening minutes of the match. However, Newtongrange stormed back as the threadbare Rose squad suffered once again on the injury front. Before the first half was over McSween, Wilson and Bradley had all limped off. Newtongrange finally breached the Rose rearguard after 75 minutes but the home team held out to secure an away tie against Musselburgh.

Elsewhere, Rangers lost out in the Uefa Cup final and Alan McGonigal was confirmed as the new manager at Berwick following an outstanding season with Camelon.

Linlithgow then headed back to Carnoustie – this time with 10 fit players in the squad as Aaron James started a game he would otherwise have missed. Rose dominated the match, conceded a poor goal and then lost on penalties to end their interest in the East of Scotland cup.

Back on league business, Rose faced up to Whitburn at Prestonfield. Unlike their recent cup clash, Rose were steam-rollered and a 2-0 victory was the least Whitburn deserved on the night. The presence of Graeme Landels on the bench for the Rose having been out of the game for 2 seasons confirmed the extent of the injuries the club was facing. For many of those who were fit, this looked like a game too far. For some, maybe there was a sense that they were reaching the end of the line as Rose players. Whatever, there was little heart or fight in evidence.