Steve Cotterill: Portsmouth are in a 'critical state'

The new Portsmouth manager, Steve Cotterill, says the club are in a "critical state" only two weeks before the start of the season. Pompey are in the middle of a tough trip around America and Canada, with a squad of trialists due to injuries and post-World Cup breaks. Portsmouth, relegated from the Premier League last season, are in dispute with HMRC over a proposed Company Voluntary Agreement under which the club would emerge from administration. While the dispute goes on, the Football League has put a block on transfers. Cotterill told the Daily Mail: "We are in a really critical state. It's impossible. I don't think people realise just how difficult it is. The people over here have been first class. But there are eight flights scheduled, along with four games in 14 days, flying through different time zones. We are doing that with 13 or 14 players. "The players are fatigued. They keep getting 90 minutes and then back on a plane again. I wouldn't mind these games being back in England so people could see how light we are. "I have got no chance of nailing down a starting XI as it stands. I don't know where we will be, even in a couple of weeks." In a match against Edmonton, Cotterill had a back five made up of three second-year professionals and two trialists. To make matters worse, goalkeeper Jon Stewart was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg.