Fears that Portsmouth players would not be paid on time for a second successive month have been allayed, despite the Premier League enforcing a transfer embargo on the troubled South Coast club, reports The Times. Portsmouth's players believed that the financial worries of the club had ended after it was taken over by Ali al-Faraj, a Saudi property investor, this month. Al-Faraj took control after the chaotic and short-lived reign of Sulaiman al-Fahim.

It was the arrival of al-Faraj that prompted the players to be paid for September, albeit six days late. The action of the Premier League had raised the fear of another delay in their wages.

However, a Fratton Park source was adamant that Paul Hart's squad would receive their monthly salaries "They will get paid," the source said. "It is not a problem."

It is understood that some members of the club staff have been paid already, dampening suggestions of another serious cash-flow problem.