The south coast club have been crippled by monetary issues all season, leading to player payments being delayed on three occasions and a transfer embargo being placed on the club. The ban on bringing in new recruits is a direct result of their failure to keep up with payments on previous deals. Pompey are working hard to resolve that issue, with it imperative that manager Avram Grant can bolster his squad during the January transfer window. They are yet to convince the Premier League that their troubles are over, though, and a sizable chunk of the money they were due to receive for television rights has been paid directly to their creditor clubs. Portsmouth could still earn a £2million bonus if they can prove that their financial arrangements are now back on track, but Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is yet to receive any documentation to suggest that is the case. Pompey insist they have now settled all of their outstanding debts, but they are yet to produce the paperwork to back up their claims. "Portsmouth know the score," said Scudamore. "We need documentation at the Premier League which is as watertight and as strong as the original contract on which players were signed. "The minute we've got absolute proof that any contractual amendments they've made with other clubs are as robust as the original contract that was signed, then obviously that money gets released."
