Football: Clark denies Forest team is for sale

The Nottingham Forest manager, Frank Clark, has dismissed reports that he has been told by the club's board of directors to put his entire first team squad up for sale.

It was claimed that Clark had been ordered to off-load his players because Forest's substantial debts were putting off prospective buyers interested in taking over at the City Ground.

But Clark insisted: "It's rubbish. To say that I've been making calls to managers telling them all my players are available for sale is just not true. What is true is that I have been in touch with one club to try and get a deal over one player going but that never got off the ground."

Striker Brian Roy is believed to the only player Clark would be willing to off-load but there has been little sign of any movement for the Dutchman.

The Forest board will meet in the near future to meet representatives of the three bidders still in contention to take over at the City Ground.

They are understood to be a consortium led by Lawrie Lewis, an Indonesian businessman and a group of local businessmen. After meeting the three parties, the directors will then call an extraordinary general meeting at which the club's 209 shareholders will decide who are to become the new owners at Forest.

Clark will be hoping that everything is decided sooner rather than later as he is desperate for funds to try to strengthen bottom-placed Forest, who have not won since the opening day of the season.

But at least he has the consolation of having his current squad back to almost full fitness. Stuart Pearce and Kevin Campbell have suffered no reaction after coming through Monday's defeat at Sheffield Wednesday after injury lay-offs. Chris Bart-Williams could also be in contention to return after a three-match absence with a thigh problem against Blackburn next Monday.

The Portsmouth manager, Terry Fenwick, is hoping that the appointment of Terry Venables as the new coach of the Australian national team can bring his club an influx of fresh playing talent.

Venables, who has also become chairman at Fratton Park in succession to his old friend and former chairman at Queen's Park Rangers Jim Gregory, is confident that he can handle the demanding dual role of helping the "Socceroos" to the 1998 World Cup finals and heading the First Division club.

Fenwick said: "Terry has got to make a living after all and Portsmouth aren't in a position to pay him a salary. He is very keen for the people of Portsmouth to know that his involvement with the club isn't some fly- by-night thing. He wants to work with the club for a long time to come.

"Being chairman of Portsmouth and manager of the Australian side allows him to have the best of both worlds. In many ways this might even help Pompey. You never know, we might end up with a few Aussie players on our books if Terry thinks they are right for us."

Venables still has an option to buy the entire Fratton Park club for just one pound in a deal agreed with Martin Gregory when he was appointed as director of football earlier this year.

Disgruntled Brighton fans are stepping up the pressure on the Football Association to help resolve the Third Division club's problems.

They are planning a march in London before the match at Fulham on 30 November and yesterday appealed for "all true football followers" to join them. A petition will be handed into the FA during the march, which will end in Hyde Park.

In the last home game against Mansfield around 2,000 supporters responded to a call to boycott the fixture and Brighton supporters groups have pledged to maintain the campaign until the chairman, Bill Archer, and the chief executive, David Bellotti, resign.

Dick Knight, leader of the consortium attempting to take over the Third Division's bottom club, has warned that they will not survive beyond the end of the season if Archer remains in charge.