Portsmouth expect owner to visit the club in the 'near future'

Portsmouth expect their owner Ali Al Faraj to finally visit the club he purchased in October last year in the "very near future". The Saudi owner has yet to watch a match at Fratton Park and has not even set foot inside the ground. "Mr Al Faraj unfortunately so far has not come to England since the takeover but it's anticipated he will come over very, very soon," the club's executive director Mark Jacob told the BBC. "Given the weather at the moment, where would you rather be? He's not the only absentee owner of a football club in the Premier League. I'll be the first to welcome him when he flies into Heathrow, please God, in the very, very near future. I have been explaining to him and also to his brother that there is a real need for him to come to games. But I certainly anticipate that he will be at a game very shortly." The club failed to pay their players and staff on time in both December and January and Jacob refused to guarantee that the situation would not arise again. He did, however, add that he hoped it would not happen. "There was a technical problem at the end of November. December was rather unfortunate. Something was anticipated to have come in by the end of December. It didn't; it was delayed," he said. "The players have now been paid and, as far as I'm aware and despite some scurrilous reports that have been in the papers, the players are more than happy. We've had dialogue with the players and with the PFA and let's get on with it. "We're in a position where the players have been paid for the last three months. Never forget that players prior to the takeover weren't paid for September 2009. Clearly in October it was Mr Al Faraj that met that liability. And indeed he's had to pick up the tab for various other liabilities he's inherited." It has been reported that Portsmouth are under pressure to balance their books and may seek to use the transfer window to sell players and boost funds. However, Jacob denied that the club would seek to cash in on their playing staff but said the wage bill needed to be addressed. "We don't need to sell players but if Avram [Grant] determines the squad is such that he can trim some of the fat, then I'm sure he will do that," he said. Jacob added that, had Al Faraj not taken over the club, Portsmouth could be bankrupt by now. "If it seems bleak in January 2010, I can assure you that it was dire in September 2009," he said. "The position in September 2009 was such that had Mr Al Faraj not taken over in October 2009 that I have no doubt that the club would probably have been in administration within a very short period of time. Since October I can assure you the club is being run in a firm and good businesslike manner." Despite that, Jacob claimed that the precise levels of debt facing Portsmouth were still in dispute and may be subject to legal proceedings. The Professional Footballers Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has called on Portsmouth to be "up front" about their financial problems. Taylor believes it is a possibility that Portsmouth could suffer the same fate as Leeds and plummet through the leagues if they cannot be stabilised. "It's always a possibility when you see that clubs over-reach themselves. But you do like clubs to be in the ownership of people who are prepared to declare their interests and be up front about it and you want them to be football lovers involved for the right reasons," he said. "Now that may well be the case but there's a lack of evidence of that, not just at Portsmouth but with other clubs as well, so that gives you cause for concern." Portsmouth are challenging the winding-up petition served on them by HM Revenue and Customs before Christmas and will go to court on Wednesday to argue the VAT portion of their massive tax debt is too high by £7.5m. Taylor criticised the club for not being unable to confirm the level of their debt. "Not even knowing the amount of money they're in debt pretty well summed up the situation that is causing a great deal of concern to the supporters and it's a club with a great past – and having said that they won the cup not too long ago," he said. "It's in a mess and it's like the Oscar Wilde quote – once is unfortunate, twice looks like carelessness and we're into the third time they have been late with wages. "It's not what you expect of a Premier League club and that's why the Premier League is so concerned about the situation. I didn't think we'd have the danger of a club going into administration since Leeds hit the skids a few years ago, but of course it has happened and with this amount of money now it's a problem, there's no saying otherwise."