Portsmouth to meet HMRC over unpaid tax bill

Portsmouth will meet with HM Revenue and Customs on Friday to discuss their unpaid tax bill, believed to be £1.9m.

The club were issued with a winding-up petition by HMRC on 3 January over unpaid tax and are due to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice on 20 February.

On Thursday, Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton revealed the Championship club were braced for administration as their search for a new owner continues.

"I am prepared for administration," Appleton told BBC Radio Solent.

Pompey were forced to search for new owners after parent company Convers Sports Initiatives went into administration in November 2011.

The players are still waiting for their January wages and the club have had their bank account frozen as a result of the winding-up petition. They have so far failed to gain a validation order to lift the block.

The Championship side are running out of time to find a new owner with administration and a subsequent 10-point penalty now a distinct possibility.

CSI administrator Andrew Andronikou previously revealed that the club had missed two payments of £800,000 to HMRC but the new figure of £1.9m emerged on Friday.

It has also been revealed that the club are also still paying off between £4m-£7m from the previous regime.

Meanwhile, the Portsmouth Supporters' Trust have revealed that Andronikou has agreed to meet up with them next week.

Earlier, Penny Mordaunt, MP for Portsmouth North had urged Andronikou to answer calls to meet the Trust to discuss how the fans could be involved in any plan to help save the club.

The PST will attempt to persuade Andronikou that the fans and the City Council both have a role to play in securing the future of Pompey.