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Pompey Might Not Finish Season - Ipswich Town News

Portsmouth’s joint-administrator Trevor Birch has said that there is a very real chance that Pompey might not be able to fulfil this season’s Championship fixtures. If that’s the case, the games Portsmouth have played would be removed from the record with the Blues, who beat the Hampshire side both home and away, losing six points.

That would see the Blues drop two places to 18th with 34 points six points off relegation in the 23-team division from which two clubs would go into League One at the end of the season.

Birch, who works for accountancy firm PKF, said in a statement: "Following our discussions with the Premier League and Football League over the past few days, it has emerged that Portsmouth Football Club is unlikely to receive any further parachute payments or other league funding.

"We had previously stated that there was a real danger of the club running out of cash before the end of the season. The risk of this happening increases substantially without the money from the football authorities. Unless something significant happens, there is a real possibility that we may not be able to fulfil the season’s fixtures.

"One potential issue appears to come from the assignment of £2.2 million of parachute payments that was made by the old company to a previous owner. We have instructed lawyers to challenge this, but the process may take time.

"The club is also still owed nearly £300,000 by the CSI administrators and their lawyers, who are withholding the funds as payment for their work in applying to court for administration. PKF is talking to its lawyers to see if this money can be returned to the club.

"Despite the tremendous support that we’ve received from everyone involved with Portsmouth Football Club, it seems that the club isn’t getting any of the breaks that it needs. The more we uncover, the worse the picture appears to get.

"The only consolation I can give supporters, staff and players at the moment is that my PKF colleagues and I have not given up hope and will continue to do all we can to save the club. But the clock is ticking.

"We are looking at all possible options for raising further revenues in the very short term but we realise that there is only so much that can be realistically achieved. We will update you on the situation as often as we can, but keep in mind that the situation will change on a daily basis.”

One of those options for raising cash is likely to be selling players, something which may be of interest to the Blues who made offers for defender Jason Pearce, midfielder or defender Joel Ward and keeper Stephen Henderson in January.

Town’s bid for Pearce was turned down, while offers for Ward and Henderson were accepted close to the deadline with the Blues refusing to agree to the pair’s "excessive” personal terms.

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