Portsmouth handed winding-up order

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Crisis club Portsmouth have been issued with a winding-up petition by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over an unpaid tax bill.

Parent company Convers Sports Initiatives entered administration in November and the club are looking for new investment. However, with Italian businessman Joseph Cala pulling out of a deal last week, there are fears for their future and chief-executive David Lampitt told BBC Radio Solent that Pompey had failed to meet two payments totalling £1.6 million (£800,000 in December and another of £800,000 due on January 20).

"This period, while we search for a new owner, was always going to be difficult from a cash flow point of view," Lampitt said on Saturday. "We are in a difficult position and will remain in a difficult position until the ownership is sorted.

"The club does not have the funding that would have been there if our previous owner had been in place. It has been a difficult two months to balance the financial position of the football club.

"We are in a difficult position and will remain in a difficult position until the ownership is sorted. For the time being, it is a matter between us and HMRC and we have to manage that as best we can."

Administrator Andrew Andronikou claimed last week that he hoped to finalise a deal with a new investor soon.

"We are concerned about the short term and are working very hard to secure a deal," he said. "Administration is not on the cards and it is the last thing we would consider. I can say that the club has not got significant debts, it has significant cash flow issues."