Cash-strapped Portsmouth say on brink of folding

Cash-strapped second tier English Championship side Portsmouth said Friday they will close down unless they can reach a deal with former owner and creditor Alexandre Gaydamak as well as prospective buyer Balram Chainrai.

In a statement, the club indicated: “It appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated” by the administrators as they are unable to support continued operations.

Portsmouth, still in administration following financial woes which accompanied their relegation from the Premier League last May, said they believed striking a deal would likely prove “impossible.”

If the club did go to the wall, Portsmouth would become the first Football League club since Maidstone United in 1992 to go out of business. That year, Aldershot were also closed down.

Portsmouth became the first Premier League club to enter administration last season and the nine points they were docked hastened their relegation.

Coach Avram Grant left to join West Ham, replaced by Steve Cotterill, and several players left.

After a poor start to the season, Pompey have won four of their last five matches while drawing the other.

But they have not been able to cast off their financial shackles and a bid to come out of administration failed last week.

A Football League spokesman said Pompey’s match Saturday at Hull, also relegated last term, will go ahead although he added that “The league is continuing to monitor the situation.”

Last June, after an improbable run to the FA Cup fial – where they lost to Chelsea – Portsmouth faced demands for 37million pounds (58 million dollars) in unpaid bills to HM Revenue and Customs.

Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou insisted, meanwhile, that he was confident the club can exit administration.