Pompey administrator hopeful

Andrew Andronikou
12 April 2012

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

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

Asked whether Saturday'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."

He added: "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 £120million before they entered administration last season and were ultimately relegated.

Andronikou confirmed a deal worth 20p 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."

He continued: "We've been taken to the brink.

"We've been talking to all parties concerned to explain to them that we are in this strange situation where we haven't got sufficient working capital ourselves, although we can see it and it is available from the purchaser (Balram Chainrai) to continue paying the club, but we need assistance from all parties - the relevant football authorities, the purchaser and the secured creditor - to sit down and compromise.

"We've got the assistance of all parties but one. We've put together proposals that will mitigate the situation for lots of creditors. We need his support. We're not in a situation where the club has recovered. there's still a process to go through. If the club closes there'll be nothing for anybody, including Mr Gaydamak."

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