Portsmouth get new court date for winding-up petition

The Fratton Park club have had four owners already this season

Portsmouth have received a provisional date of 1 March for the High Court hearing of their winding-up petition.

The club were granted a stay of execution on Wednesday when they were given a week to draw up a statement of their financial affairs.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs had taken Portsmouth to court over an unpaid tax bill amounting to £7.4m.

A Pompey statement said the club remained in advanced talks with prospective buyers.

As well as the Vat bill Portsmouth is disputing with HMRC, it also owes £4.7m in unpaid PAYE and National Insurance which were not part of the court petition on Wednesday.

Last week Balram Chainrai, a Hong Kong-based businessman, became the club's fourth owner of the season after taking 90% of the club shares after the previous owner Ali Al Faraj defaulted on loan payments due to him.

The Premier League's basement club has debts of £60m and are five points from safety following a 1-1 home draw against Sunderland on Tuesday.

Their financial woes have meant their players have been paid late on four occasions this season.

The club are also involved in a separate dispute with former owner Sacha Gaydamak over whether they have missed a deadline in paying a £9m chunk of the £28m they owe to him.

The Premier League recently withheld £2m of transfer payments and a £7m slice of TV revenue to divert to Chelsea and Watford for the signings of Glen Johnson and Tommy Smith respectively.

The Fratton Park club are also being sued by former defender Sol Campbell for £1.7m for unpaid image rights.