Southend United have been granted a final 42-day adjournment of their winding-up petition by the High Court to complete the sale of the club.
Owner Ron Martin told the court a sale to an unnamed Australian buyer should be finalised by the end of September.
The club were given a 42-day adjournment on their previous appearance in court on 12 July to clear debts and find a new owner.
The takeover must now be finalised by their return to court on 4 October.
The judge warned Martin the club, founded in 1906, would be wound up if that deadline was missed.
“If this was not a football club, with the attachment of its fans, I would be winding it up today,” Judge Prentis said.
The Shrimpers, who have debts of £2.5m, owe £275,000 to HMRC in unpaid taxes and were warned by the National League that failure to clear that tax liability by Wednesday would result in a 10-point penalty.
They were also told their licence to play would depend on paying any new debts “on time to the satisfaction of the league” during the season.
After settling football-related debts of £300,000 last month to confirm their league place, the Shrimpers have begun their campaign with two wins and two defeats and are ninth in the table on six points.
But a 10-point penalty would leave them bottom on minus four points, five points adrift of current bottom club Dagenham & Redbridge.
Concern over Shrimpers’ future lingers
Southend have managed their solid start despite being under a transfer embargo that was put in place last September because of their financial problems.
It has meant boss Kevin Maher has been unable to add to his squad for nearly a year and has only had 15 players to pick from on matchdays.
Maher said it was “pretty obvious to anyone watching what’s needed” after their weekend defeat by Hartlepool, adding the players and staff had been “incredible” but “need help”.
Wednesday’s ruling prolongs the uncertainty over the 117-year-old club’s future with Martin having started negotiations with several interested parties, including asset management company Kimura Capital, after putting Southend up for sale in March.
Kimura told BBC Essex last month that they believed the club was a “very attractive asset” and were willing to “join with other interested parties” but were “not the right people to lead this”.
Those talks appear to have come to nothing, but Martin is now “confident” the interest from Australia will prove concrete and secure the Shrimpers’ future.