Plymouth Albion: Championship club to appoint administrator

Plymouth Albion's last home game was their derby loss to the Cornish Pirates

Championship bottom club Plymouth Albion have announced their intention to appoint an administrator.

James Shanahan's side are currently 11 points adrift at the foot of the second-tier table without a win.

"Albion spent much of 2014 in talks with various parties to refinance the club," a club statement read.

"But unfortunately, to date, none of these discussions have come to fruition and the board is addressing a worsening financial picture."

The club hope to appoint administrators within the next 10 days, unless new investment is found.

If the Devon club go into administration they will incur a 20-point penalty and face almost certain relegation to National League One.

Graham Dawe, one of the club's largest shareholders despite being sacked from his role as chairman of rugby in 2011, will return on a voluntary basis to help the club during the process.

Current chairman Graham Stirling said: "Issuing a notice of intention to appoint an administrator has been a difficult but necessary decision and is a reflection of the seriousness and imminent nature of the financial challenges which the club now faces.

"We continue to intensively explore all options but clearly time is not on our side.

"While there are those who have indicated a continuing willingness to assist, it seems increasingly likely that this would now be through a Company Voluntary Arrangement or via administration, a course of action we have been seeking to avoid.

"We have had one generous offer of support, but our major problem is timing. We must finalise a position over the next few days. There is still time for any other interested parties to come forward and talk to our advisors."