Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor is expecting Leeds' players to defer their wages in order to help the financially stricken club.

Leeds announced yesterday that they'd reached a deal to extend the `standstill agreement' with the principal creditors by seven days.

"The Board of Leeds United PLC announces that the company's principal finance creditors have agreed to extend the standstill period (announced on December 4, 2003) by a week, to midnight on January 26, 2004," Leeds announced to the Stock Exchange last night.

"This agreement also provides for a further two-week extension to February 6, 2004, conditional on achievement of certain financial and other covenants."

The Yorkshire club are £82million in debt and the prospect of being the first Premiership club to fall into administration is very real.

Leeds could get Rich

LEEDS could be saved from bankruptcy by a consortium that includes ex-Bradford chairman Geoffrey Richmond.

He is understood to have teamed up with Leeds-born property developer Simon Morris, entrepreneur Melvyn Levy and insolvency expert Gerald Krasner to rescue the club.

Leeds face administration with debts of £106million.

But Richmond has already saved Bradford from administration — they had debts of £36m — before quitting as Valley Parade chairman two years ago.

Now he plans a similar rescue act at Elland Road.

His consortium wants to sell the stadium for £20m to the club’s major American creditors and lease it back at £600,000 a season.

They also plan to raise £12.5m through a new bond scheme that would see 2,500 season ticket holders fork out £5,000 each over a fixed period of 25 years.

Richmond is in advanced talks with Elland Road chief executive and acting chairman Trevor Birch.

But Birch has huge reservations about the sale of Elland Road.

Creditors granted the club an extension until Friday to either sell to the consortium, place the club in administration, raise £5m by selling stars or get the players to take a big wage deferral.

A club statement confirmed: “The standstill agreement also provides for a further extension to February 6, 2004, conditional on achievement of certain financial and other covenants.”

Fans plan a silent protest at Saturday’s home game against Middlesbrough in a bid to shame players into deferring their pay.

Supporters Trust chairman John Boocock said: “There is unanimous condemnation in Leeds over the conduct of the players, who have now lost all respect in the eyes of the fans.”