Inverurie Locos manager Andy Low fears his side’s title hopes may have suffered a fatal blow against Nairn County last weekend.
The 3-2 defeat left them six points adrift of Brora, who have a game in hand.
Low, whose side take on Huntly tomorrow, said: “I feel the league is potentially gone.
“I’m not giving up on it but I feel Brora are such a good side that the gap could be too big.
“It is a case of trying to get back to winning games.
“If anything happens elsewhere we need to be in a position to do something about it.
“But at the moment we just focus on ourselves and try to win games of football to put ourselves in that position.
“The Nairn game was very disappointing.
“In hindsight I didn’t think we deserved to lose the game but we definitely didn’t deserve to win it, either.
“We created a lot of chances but our passing and finishing was erratic.”
Low was happier with the recent news that central defender Eric Watson has extended his deal.
The former Cove Rangers defender has agreed an extension until the end of the 2020-21 season.
The Inverurie boss said: “I am delighted to get Eric signed up.
“We probably could have left it until nearer the end of the season but we wanted to get it done.
“Eric has been excellent in terms of his performances and the way he conducts himself around the club.
“There aren’t many centre-halves better than Eric Watson.
“The three centre-halves we have – Mark Souter, Ryan Broadhurst and Eric – complement each other very well.”