Exclusive: Premier League in cash talks to rescue Pompey

The troubled south coast outfit are in dire straits and due back in the High Court on March 1 to face a winding up order from the taxman over an unpaid bill of 12.1m.

Should Pompey be unable to satisfy the demands of the Inland Revenue, they face either being put into administration – incurring a nine-point deduction to be all but relegated from the top flight – or liquidated.

The Premier League are desperate to avoid the embarrassment of a member club going bust.

Chief executive Richard Scudamore is understood to be considering a ring round of the other 19 top flight chairmen to ask if they object to Pompey's parachute payment of 11m – money the club would be entitled to in the summer – being paid early to help cover the debt to the taxman.

To aid Pompey's plight, the League has already taken the unusual step of advancing all 20 clubs a 2m payment, which under the terms of the standardised cashflow agreement was not due for another two months.

Hull, who were yesterday handed a boost when George Boateng's appeal against his red card in the 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers was upheld, received this money on Thursday.

Chairman Pearson last night told the Yorkshire Post: "We have not had a call off the Premier League so we await with interest what happens over the weekend.

"If the call does come through and we have a request to pay Portsmouth the money early, then our next question would simply be 'if they are getting 11m early then is this offer going to be extended to the other clubs?'

"There cannot be one rule for one and another for the rest. If similar treatment is open to other clubs, then we would look at it with an open mind.

"But if it is only open to Portsmouth, we would be not be so well inclined.

"Football is a very competitive business. And once you start changing the rules, it can lead to problems.

"If we do receive a call over the weekend, we will be seeking clarification on a number of things."

Portsmouth are comfortably the most financially-stricken club in the top flight but several others have also experienced difficulties in recent months.

At Hull, a hoped for exodus of fringe players during last month's transfer window largely failed to materialise to leave the club needing to borrow funds to support a bloated wage bill until the summer.

Pearson said: "If we had known something like this was being suggested to help Portsmouth was open to us then we would have made enquiries about it.

"In fact, I am sure there would probably be a queue of clubs doing the same."

Clearly, the stakes are high for Portsmouth ahead of their return to the High Court, which was yesterday put back from next week to Monday March 1.

But, equally, there are a host of other clubs near the foot of the Premier League who are anxiously awaiting news.

If Pompey, who yesterday put aside their money concerns to sign free agent Dusko Tosic following the Serbian defender's release by Werder Bremen, are able to come to an agreement with the taxman then they will remain eight points adrift of safety with 13 games remaining.

If, however, they slip into administration then Avram Grant's team would immediately be deducted nine points and effectively condemned to relegation.

The nightmare scenario for Premier League chiefs would see Portsmouth go under and all this season's results expunged, causing a reshuffle in the league table.

At the top, Chelsea would suddenly have a four-point lead due to having only played the troubled club once this term. In contrast, Manchester United and Arsenal have already completed the double over Pompey, while Manchester City and Fulham also face losing six points.

The relegation battle would be similarly affected with West Ham United the biggest losers due to having already claimed four points from their two meetings. As a result, the Hammers would slip from 14th to 18th and into the relegation zone.

Hull, who drew 0-0 with Portsmouth at the KC Stadium in October, would remain 17th but be three points clear of danger as opposed to the slender one-point advantage they currently hold.

The Premier League has never lost a club to liquidation, though Accrington Stanley (1963), Aldershot (1992) and Maidstone United (1993) all folded midway through a Football League season.