Portsmouth chief executive David Lampitt vows to fight on

Portsmouth chief executive David Lampitt says the club will fight on and has promised supporters he will not give up in the battle to save it.

Pompey announced on Monday they had applied to enter administration, with that order set to be granted in court on Friday.

It would be the second time in two years that the club have entered administration and they now face a 10-point Football League penalty.

"We will fight on, we won't give up," Lampitt told BBC Radio Solent.

Lampitt admitted it was a tough decision to apply for the administration order but believes it was the right one to protect the future of the club.

He added: "Administration is a bitter pill to swallow. We fought tirelessly to avoid this and I have to pay tribute to everyone at the club from the players, to the staff off the pitch, who have kept us going despite not being paid since Christmas.

"But we have to take these steps to try and protect the future of the club."

The Championship side were issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs on 3 January over unpaid tax, and they were due at the Royal Courts of Justice on 20 February.

But they have opted to enter administration instead, rather than face the risk of being wound up next Monday.

Earlier in February in emerged they owed HMRC £1.9m in unpaid tax as well £4m-£7m from the previous regime.

Pompey's parent company, Convers Sports Initiatives, entered administration in November, forcing the Championship club to search for new owners.

So far their search has proved unsuccessful with former owner Balram Chainrai still owed £17m. As well as Chainrai there are a number of other creditors who are also owed money.

"We made the order ourselves because it has got to a position now where it is absolutely necessary to do that," added Lampitt.

"It is necessary in order to protect the club and the ongoing trading position of the club and to protect our creditors, which is very important in our duty as directors.

"It is not a decision we have taken lightly. Since the demise of CSI in November we've done everything we can to try and sell the club with the assistance of the administrators (financial advisors UHY Hacker Young) of our parent company (CSI).

"It is a situation we absolutely wanted to avoid because of the impact on the pitch and on the team.

"But off the pitch it has become a necessary decision and I think it was a decision that a lot of people have anticipated."

In 2010 the Fratton Park side became the first Premier League club to enter administration and were later relegated.

Lampitt concluded: "I believe in the football club and what we have achieved. We brought it back from the brink and our problems have arisen because of what has happened to our majority shareholder."

A 10-point deduction would leave Pompey in 21st position and plunged into a relegation battle with Nottingham Forest, Doncaster and Coventry.