Brown pushing for transition budget in Pompey player hunt

And he will ask incoming owner Michael Eisner to provide it.

The Tornante investment group’s £5.67m bid has been accepted by Pompey’s shareholders.

However, it could be another six to eight weeks before the deal is finalised – conceivably impacting upon Cook’s ability to recruit in the meantime.

As it stands, the Blues boss has a £3m playing budget at his disposal, yet is hoping Eisner’s arrival will see that boosted.

Pompey Supporters’ Trust chairman Brown sympathises with the budget situation.

And he will ask fellow members of the club’s board to approach Eisner about a financial solution while the deal goes through.

He said: ‘As a board, we want the best for the football club and we will certainly try to encourage Tornante to come up with some ideas about a transition budget.

‘Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, they cannot complete the deal until August.

‘That’s very late to figure out what we can do with the playing squad.

‘So if they have ambitions over and above our own as it stands, then we’d like to find a way to enable them to provide that transition budget so Paul Cook and his team can start to operate a bit earlier in the market.

‘I don’t see why it can’t happen.

‘Obviously they still have to go through due diligence but we are fairly confident they’re not going to uncover anything strange, we are a fairly new business.

‘I can walk around in the next five minutes and show you everything the club owns.

‘We know what the players are and the assets are, while the accounts since the business started are all available, so there aren’t going to be any great surprises.

‘Unless something else changes their mind, it’s just a case of going through the motions in terms of the takeover. If they know they’re going to have the club at the end of it then why not make some commitment to provide money earlier? That is going to benefit them as well.

‘Paul can then have near to a complete squad before August.’

Mark Catlin has already stressed the budget will not be altered until Tornante’s takeover has been rubber-stamped.

During that wait, he is adamant the existing playing budget must remain the same ahead of their return to League One.

Regardless, Brown plans to discuss the budgeting matter with fellow board members while they await Eisner’s deal to go through.

He added: ‘The suggestion of a transition budget wouldn’t have been broached on the day the shareholders approved Tornante.

‘This is something the Trust directors will be putting forward via Mark Catlin – and I cannot imagine it wouldn’t get support from others on the board.’