Administrator out to save Pompey

The news comes after the announcement from Portpin that it has withdrawn its bid for the troubled npower League One club.

Chainrai listed a number of reasons behind his decision to pull out, most notably a lack of support and co-operation from administrator PKF and other involved parties, but went on to state "we welcome and will assist anyone, including the Supporters' Trust, to try and save the club in the coming days".

The announcement leaves Pompey in real danger of liquidation, but administrator Birch, who has spent the last few weeks trying to slash the club's wage bill in an attempt to push through the sale, hopes the Supporters' Trust can still come to their rescue.

"We note Portpin's statement that it has withdrawn its bid for Portsmouth Football Club," said Birch.

"In reviewing the options available to the club, we also note Portpin's offer to support any efforts to save Portsmouth in the forthcoming days.

"We are therefore urgently seeking a meeting with Portpin and the Pompey Supporters' Trust to determine if the Trust's bid can be brought to a successful conclusion.

"We are working behind the scenes with (manager) Michael Appleton to enable the club to field as strong a team as possible for its first league match on Saturday."

Appleton was forced to field nine teenagers in his starting XI as Portsmouth crashed out of the Capital One Cup with a 3-0 first-round defeat at Plymouth.