Portsmouth hopeful of avoiding liquidation

Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou remains hopeful creditor Alexandre Gaydamak will back down from his demands and save the club from going into liquidation.

The club released a statement late Friday revealing it is on the brink of ceasing trading after Gaydamak, a former owner of the club who is owed around 2.2 million pounds, refused, they claim, to sign a deal which could have seen them move out of administration.

Asked whether today’s npower Championship game at Hull would be the club’s last, Andronikou told BBC Radio 5 live: “I think common sense will prevail and all parties will come to the table this weekend – but it has to be this weekend.

“Yesterday evening’s activities were really a wake-up call for everybody to say ‘look, we just can’t sit here whilst everybody else finesses their position. It is about coming to the table and cutting a deal’.

“I’m waiting to hear from (Gaydamak) or his representatives and I’ve made it publicly known I’m available 24/7 to get this done.

“Next time I speak to the press I want to be announcing we’re out of administration.”

Portsmouth’s debt at one point stood at around 120 million pounds before they entered administration last season and were ultimately relegated.

Andronikou confirmed a deal worth 20 pence in the pound to unsecured creditors had been agreed, but he is in the frustrating position of knowing the club could go into liquidation despite being tantalisingly close to securing their future.

He said: “I’m sure that once we do get round the table this matter will be resolved rather quickly and rather than talking about liquidation we’ll be talking about exiting administration.

“All other parties are satisfied. We have documents ready to go. We are as close to coming out of administration as to liquidation. It’s a very unusual situation.”

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.

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.