THE MAN who has control of Portsmouth was given 'false promises' before lending the stricken club £17m.

Balram Chainrai seized control of 90 per cent of the Fratton Park club after the money was not repaid.

Chainrai's spokesman, Phil Hall, said: ''He hasn't made a penny out of the club.

''He was asked in October to put in £17million as a loan, for six weeks, and he agreed to do that.

''At the end of six weeks he expected his money to be returned and that didn't happen. He gave them a bit of a grace period but the loan wasn't repaid so in January he took over the shares of the club.

''He put another £2million in this week to make sure the staff were paid.''

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Asked how Pompey ended up in administration, Hall continued: ''The club's debt is too great.

''He (Chainrai) was also given false promises when he came in. He was told the club had certain debts but didn't know that Premier League rules say football debts become a priority, that money owed on transfers must be paid first.

''He asked the questions and was given answers and assurances that turned out not to be true.

''Having put £17million of his own money in unfortunately he found the club facing a winding-up order on Monday.

''He had a choice of allowing the club to go into administration, for someone to go in and try to bring it back into a stronger financial position.

''He feels he's a victim - the club have been overwhelmed by these debts and he is a reluctant owner.''