Premiership news: David O'Leary has agreed to defer the balance of the compensation he is due from Leeds to help the club overcome their financial problems.

O'Leary, now manager of Aston Villa, was entitled to a £3.7 million pay-off when sacked by Leeds 18-months ago. He has received half of that figure to date and has agreed the balance should be paid in four instalments at six-month intervals.

By contrast, O'Leary's successors at Elland Road, Terry Venables and Peter Reid, are understood to be receiving their pay-offs weekly.

"I've got a lot of affection for Leeds," O'Leary said. "I am sorry to see the club is in such a mess financially and am happy to do anything to help."

Leeds are £80 million in debt and have until January 19th to restructure their finances, otherwise the club will fall into administration. If the administrators are called in, O'Leary, Reid, Venables and Leeds' former striker Robbie Fowler, who is still drawing £10,000 a week, are unlikely to receive any more payments.

"I'd be hurt financially if the club goes into administration," O'Leary added. "And so would quite a number of others."

Leeds should learn at tomorrow's Premier League meeting whether they, or any other top-flight club, will be punished for filing for administration.

There is a consensus among the 20 Premiership clubs that sanctions should be imposed, though the shape has yet to be formalised. At the Football League's meeting in September it was decided that a 10-point penalty should be imposed on those clubs filing for administration, set to come into effect next season.

But there is unlikely to be such a catch-all penalty for Premiership clubs, and a right to appeal is expected to feature strongly in the policy document. This, though, may not help clubs such as Leeds, for whom administration currently remains a possibility.

Until January 19th, Leeds can court prospective new owners. But if they do not materialise it would be difficult for Leeds to argue that their decision to ratchet up unsustainable debt had not provided them with a competitive advantage.

Leeds are still confident of avoiding receivership, however, and the plc board said yesterday that "it is currently in discussions with a number of interested parties which are at a very early stage and may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company."

But those words carry little substance other than to record that inquiries deemed serious enough to merit a response have been received. That, though, is a long way from constituting a takeover bid.

Currently only one prospective bidder, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, has identified himself as being interested. The Bahraini has long been known to the Leeds board as a committed fan of the club, though it is wary of his resources.

Sources in Bahrain insist he has no great property or business interests, and that he is not particularly well connected in sport beyond his home country. However, Al-Khalifa maintains he is acting as a broker for prospective investors from the Gulf.

Another report, claiming that the York-based property magnate Kevin Linfoot might be preparing a bid, appears to be erroneous, as his offices yesterday denied all knowledge of his reputed interest.

Sources in the City suggest the most likely outcome will be that bids will not be forthcoming until the days preceding the deadline.