Portsmouth players asked to defer salaries

LONDON (AP) — Portsmouth players have been asked to defer their salaries after the financier tasked with saving the 2008 FA Cup winner from bankruptcy warned the club's cash could run out in two months.

The second-tier English club entered bankruptcy protection last week for the second time in two years.

Trevor Birch, who is running the club as the administrator, says asking players and other employees to defer their salaries will be "painful" but "essential for Portsmouth's survival, which is our main objective."

Birch stressed that "there is a serious risk that the club could run out of cash within the next couple of months ... Portsmouth's survival depends on us being able to find a buyer for the club before the money runs out."