PORTSMOUTH have been granted extra time to fight a winding-up petition at the High Court today.

PORTSMOUTH have been granted extra time to fight a winding-up petition at the High Court today.

The club faced proceedings over a multimillion-pound unpaid tax bill after talks with Revenue and Customs failed and now has one week to draw up a statement of its financial affairs.

Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie said he remains hopeful that a new owner can be found who would be able to pull the club out of its financial plight.

Portsmouth faces a VAT bill of �7.4million which it is disputing with HMRC while it also owes �4.7million in unpaid PAYE and National Insurance which were not part of today's petition.