No pressure for West Ham owner

West Ham's owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is under no pressure to sell the club before a March deadline, sources close to the Icelandic financier have insisted.

The club's holding company Hansa are due back in court in Iceland on March 6 where they will argue they should not be put into insolvency. According to court documents in Reykjavik, Hansa will have to appear before court and satisfy a number of creditors. Some reports say they face being declared insolvent then which would lead to a nine-point deduction for the Hammers by the Premier League.

However the source said: "There is no urgent need to sell West Ham before March - that court appearance is just part of the normal procedure that takes place in Iceland in dealing with these situations."

Gudmundsson has had a number of approaches from potential buyers for West Ham but no firm offer has been received.

The banker has been under considerable financial pressure following the collapse of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki, in which he held a 41% stake.

He initially told the Reykjavik court that he expected to get £250million for West Ham - which he bought for £85million two years ago - but it has since been admitted that asking price is unrealistic.