Local MPs have joined the bid to help save Bolton Wanderers from entering administration after the club was hit with a winding-up petition.
The Trotters have failed to pay off a tax bill, thought to be in the region of £600,000, which led to HMRC issuing the notice on Thursday afternoon.
It has since emerged that 300 members of administration staff face the prospect of not being paid prior to Christmas, while each member of the playing squad also went unpaid throughout November.
Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi has now written directly to HMRC to ask for clemency, with the hope of raising wider support to help halt Wanderers' plight ahead of a High Court hearing in January.
"I would be very grateful if you would consider taking steps to delay the hearing until Friday June 17 - this will allow the club to continue to engage in what can often be complex discussions with prospective buyers, to ensure they can avert a deeper crisis for the club and for our town," Qureshi said.
Should Bolton enter administration, they would face an automatic 12-point deduction which would effectively mean relegation into the third tier of English football.
