Hughes offers to easy Pompey wage burden

Portsmouth defender Richard Hughes has offered to slash his pay by half in order to resolve his future at the club. Hughes is one appearance away from triggering a clause in his contract that will extend his stay at Fratton Park by a year, albeit on Premier League wages - payments the troubled South Coast outfit can ill-afford. The 31-year-old has offered to take a cut of 50% to continue playing for Steve Cotterill's team, however he has yet to receive any correspondence from the club's hierarchy regarding his offer. Hughes told The News: "I am appreciative of everything this football club has done for my career and just want to get out there and do what I love to do, which is play football. It's a difficult thing because I have read what has been said, and if I was a fan I would be asking questions about exactly what is happening. "'The people making the decisions know I would be delighted to take a significant salary decrease in order to waive this clause. I am not talking an insignificant amount either - I am talking 50 per cent because I appreciate financially things have to change. The last thing I want is for anybody to think is I am being greedy. "My agent has had a conversation with the chief executive, it was very amicable and very professional. As far as I am aware, it is left in their court and something can be achieved."

Source: PA