Michael Appleton steps into the fire at Portsmouth

Michael Appleton's dream first crack at management has quickly turned sour at Portsmouth

Michael Appleton can be forgiven for thinking football management is not worth it.

Just three weeks after taking his first full-time role as a boss at Portsmouth, he finds himself at the centre of a financial crisis which threatens to make his job almost impossible.

The company which owns the club - Convers Sports Initiatives - has gone into administration, a situation which may lead to Portsmouth facing a 10-point deduction in the Championship.

If Pompey were to take the 10-point hit, it would leave them rock bottom of the table, seven points adrift of safety.

They would then be facing the very real prospect of dropping into League One, something which must have been almost unimaginable when Harry Redknapp led them to FA Cup glory in 2008.

Since then, things have alarmingly unravalled - they almost went out of business after being relegated from the Premier League - and their latest crisis is just another blow for their long-suffering fans.

Redknapp must take some of the blame as he left behind a number of expensive failures on extravagant salaries.

It is the string of woeful owners who should take most of the blame for the plight of Portmouth, though.

Appleton, regarded as an "excellent" manager by Roy Hodgson, is now likely to have to fight fires at Fratton Park on a regular basis and face more battles off the pitch than he will on it.

Hodgson is impressed by Appleton, who worked under him at West Brom

He couldn't have picked a much more difficult job to start off his managerial career but this could be the making of him.

If Appleton holds things together and helps stave off the threat of relegation, his reputation will improve enormously.

He has a thankless task on his hands at Fratton Park but it could be a very rewarding one.

Portsmouth are looking for new investors - and probably new owners - and Appleton would then have to work under a board who did not appoint him.

It's certainly not the easiest job to start off your managerial career.

When Portsmouth went into administration in 2010, they were given an immediate points deduction but this time their case is not as cut and dry.

It is the company which is in immediate financial trouble, not the club.

That could spare them the points deduction but it may just be a short-term reprieve unless new investors come forward.

The club have stated they only have cash for the "short-term", and that statement must be worrying for Pompey fans.

Portsmouth fans have had to deal with poor owners for years

If nobody comes forward to help them, they will presumably be in financial peril again.

Their fans deserve much better, as do Appleton and the players.

Portsmouth supporters have had to suffer one ownership farce after another and are used to hearing their club described as being in a "crisis".

How are these owners passing the Fit and Proper Persons test?

Vladimir Antonov had a well-known chequered past yet still managed to get his hands on the club.

He has now been arrested for bank fraud and forgery. It really is a joke that people like this are being allowed to buy clubs.

Surely it wouldn't have taken much research to find out about Antonov's dodgy past.

Steve Cotterill, who recently left his role as Portsmouth boss to take over at Nottingham Forest, must be counting his blessings he is no longer at Fratton Park.

Cotterill must be relieved he left Portsmouth when he did

For Appleton though, the hard work now begins. How can he keep events on and off the pitch separate?

His task starts with a home game with Coventry on Saturday, a fixture which is a relegation six-pointer even if Pompey avoid the points deduction.

This is just yet another mess at Fratton Park and it is left to a manager just three weeks into his managerial career to keep things stable.

The FA have a lot to answer for, as do the Football League. How did Portsmouth find themselves in such dirty hands again?

Balram Chainrai - the owner before CSI - should not have sold the club to anybody with such a questionable past.

Pompey fans have already had to put up with disastrous regime after disastrous regime at boardroom level, with CSI being the club's fifth owners in three years.

Surely there must be someone out there who would want to turn their fortunes around and has the resources to do so?

Portsmouth is a great club with fantastic fans. There can't be many better projects to take on in English football.

Pompey fans are among the most passionate in the country

They have been incredibly unlucky with owners in recent years and they deserve to have much better fortune with their next change.

If Pompey keep going on this way, they could again face the prospect of going out of business. That is simply unacceptable.

It is time for a true football person to take a chance on Portsmouth.

The fans deserve it, the players deserve it and Appleton deserves it.

This is not what he signed up for and you have to feel sympathy for him.

He has to try and push the financial worries to the background and focus on improving performances on the pitch. This will be a true test of his ability and character.

Those who put him in this situation should hang their heads in shame.