Administrator Andrew Andronikou gives Portsmouth hope
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/9120575.stmPortsmouth's administrator is hopeful creditor Alexandre Gaydamak will back down from his demands and prevent the stricken club going into liquidation.
The club said on Friday that Gaydamak demanded an upfront payment to allow Pompey to exit administration, which endangered their ability to trade.
But administrator Andrew Andronikou is still hopeful a deal can be reached between the club and Gaydamak.
"I think common sense will prevail," Andronikou told BBC Radio 5 live.
Gaydamak, Barclays Banks and another former owner, Balram Chainrai, are the club's main secured creditors.
Gaydamak says he has secured debt of more than £2.2m, and he has asked for an unspecified amount of that to be paid up front.
After talks broke down with Gaydamak, Portsmouth announced they were likely to fold.
Andronikou hopes the threat of going out of business will serve as a "wake-up call" to all the parties involved, but added that a deal would have to be reached within the next two days.
"I think all parties will come to the table this weekend - but it has to be this weekend," said Andronikou.
"Yesterday evening's [Friday] 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 £120m 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 knows the club could still go into liquidation despite being 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."
Andronikou admitted "a very unusual situation" had 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," he said.
"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 - if the club closes there'll be nothing for anybody, including Mr Gaydamak."
Andronikou explained the proposal on the table from the club, saying: "He'll start having payment over the next five years along with all other creditors.
"[The disagreement] is effectively timing and, I would imagine, from his point of view, ensuring that he is actually secured, and we have used our best endeavours to get him as secured as possible.
"From where we are today he will be paid first. The point is that we've all got to compromise to move forward."
