Appleton calls for focus

The Championship club, who have been engulfed in financial strife over recent times, were issued with a winding-up petition by the HM Revenue and Customs office last month and their accounts were frozen.

As a result, the club's players have still not been paid last month's wages and their young boss admits he does not know when, or if, a new owner will be found.

"We've not had any definite dates in terms of what's going to happen," he told Sky Sports News.

"The players still haven't been paid yet, but from our point of view, I've said all along we've got to concentrate on what we do on the field and not what goes on off it."

Cushion

Portsmouth have a five-point cushion on the teams in the bottom three and the manager appears confident his players will continue to be professional even though their wages are late.

"You have conversations with them and they will bring it up," added Appleton.

"After the first day they were due to get paid, I sat them down and had a chat with them and just said we have to make sure we stay together.

"It's not a nice thing but we understand the situation the club is in at the moment, and I think we have a decent bunch of players here that are respectful of how things are here at the moment.

"I'm sure they will continue to show the right attitude and application they've shown over the few weeks, while it's been a difficult period for us."