A statement on the official site confirmed that Chainrai has served notice that the club will go into administration on Friday unless a buyer can be found, but that now looks unlikely according to Phil Hall, spokesman for Portpin Ltd, the company which effectively owns the club.
Talks in London will continue in the next few days to see if a credible buyer does emerge. It has been revealed that there are four interested parties, one of which is the South African consortium and another is a Hong Kong consortium led by New Zealander Victor Cattermole. Little is known about the other two offers.
I don't see anything happening and I only see Pompey being plunged into administration come Friday. It won't matter in terms of on-the-pitch problems as we're down anyway, but administration would wipe out a fair chunk of the debt that Pompey owe, making it a more attractive proposition for prospective buyers.
Not only that, but most importantly it would mean that Pompey fans still have a club (for the time being) with Monday's winding-up order being postponed. It would then be up to administrators to find a new buyer for the club, whilst both Chainrai and Sacha Gaydamak stand to lose a hell of a lot of money.
I think that administration is the most sensible option as it would keep the club alive and although it wouldn't completely wipe the debt slate clean, it would at least make a significant impact on the finances of the club.
Whoever the new buyer would be (assuming we get one) would have a major rebuilding job in the Championship on their hands, but that would be attractive to a visionary who wants a football club on the cheap.
Of course, administration isn't certain yet and you can almost guarantee a twist in the tale before Friday's deadline. Perhaps an extremely worried Alexandre Gaydamak has something to say about all this?