LEAGUE OF IRELAND:TALKS AIMED at securing the future of Cork City football club were continuing last night, but it remained unclear whether the proposed takeover by a consortium of local businessmen and supporters could be agreed ahead of this morning's critical High Court and FAI licensing committee meetings.

City are back in court today at 11am to face the latest instalment of the Revenue Commissioners’ attempt to wind up the club for non payment of significant taxes.

At 1pm, the licensing committee is due to start its final deliberations on which clubs will be granted permission to play in the various divisions of the League of Ireland next season. The Cork City case will be dealt with last, to take account of events in the High Court.

Agreement on the basis of the takeover being completed appears to be the only chance that City have of making it through the day intact.

“If Mr (Tom) Coughlan (club owner) agrees to the deal, then we would hope the court would agree to an adjournment and that the licensing committee will grant the new entity a license,” said John O’Sullivan, chairman of supporters’ group Foras.

“If he doesn’t, I don’t know what sort of ability he might have to pay the money due tomorrow, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see us being put into liquidation.

“We certainly hope that we will have an agreement with Mr Coughlan tomorrow, and if that happens then all of the money that needs to be paid tomorrow would be in our solicitors’ account, although the takeover itself might take a while longer to actually complete.”

O’Sullivan confirmed his group’s “Plan B” is the application it has submitted for a first division licence.

However, he acknowledged that, even if it is granted, the new club would not necessarily gain immediate entry to the league’s second tier.

And he insisted no consideration had been given yet as to whether the leading figures involved in the consortium – Jim McCarthy, Peter Gray and Michael O’Connell – would become involved in the new club.