Gold praying for Pompey woe

Published Feb. 19, 2010 3:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have brought a winding-up order against Portsmouth and a final hearing before a judge over a £12.1million unpaid tax bill has been scheduled for March 1. While administration and a subsequent nine-point deduction remains the most likely outcome for Pompey, the prospect of the club going into liquidation still looms as HMRC claim they are trading while insolvent. Gold bought West Ham last month along with his former Birmingham co-owner David Sullivan, and if Portsmouth go out of business all their results from this season would become void. The consequence for West Ham in that eventuality would be that they would lose the four points they have gained against Avram Grant's side, dropping them even deeper into a relegation battle. Gold has offered to lend Portsmouth £10million in order to keep them afloat, but he admits that proposal is motivated purely by self-interest. "Everyone here is hoping they get relegated," said Gold. "It is human nature, we want three clubs relegated. If Portsmouth are one of them, we will cheer them all the way to the Championship - that's what we do for a living. "We don't want them to go bust, we want them to go into administration. It will be sad for their fans, but it will not destroy them. "I've got to be honest [the four points] is the driving motive but I also think we owe it to them. The Premier League is made up of 20 football clubs, not 19. "Each of us have an obligation, not to save them from their stupidity, but to make sure we save them from going bust. "I want them to get relegated. I want them to go into administration, but I will be mortified if they go bust. Is it because I'm driven by the four points it would mean to West Ham? Yes." West Ham currently sit 15th in the Premier League, just one point above the bottom three despite their 2-0 win over Birmingham on February 10, their first victory since Boxing Day. on Saturday they entertain fellow strugglers Hull in a game Gold admits is important to the club's survival this season. "We have got our first win under our belts and now have the chance to get back-to-back wins for the first time in the season," he added. "We feel that Hull is a winnable game and it would be fantastic to beat them. "We are in a mess, a proper relegation battle and if we can get out of the relegation zone, then we can start properly planning for the future of West Ham."