'Scapegoat' Batty blasts back at critics

The 35-year old seldom courts publicity and made light of a gesture at the end of his first season back at Leeds after leaving Newcastle. He was offered the chance to reclaim his favoured No.4 shirt but declined because, he said, some families had already paid good money for the No.23 he still wears.

Batty added: 'I can assure you of my best efforts at all times. I have never given any less than 100 per cent for Leeds United and none of the players have said they would not take a wage deferral.'

As Batty attempted to set the record straight, Leeds came under intense pressure to accept a £20million takeover bid from a Leeds-based consortium after their spokesman, Gerald Krasner, spelled out the dire consequences of missing Friday's 5pm deadline for avoiding administration.

Krasner, a specialist in corporate recovery, restructuring and insolvency, confirmed that 'serious negotiations' were ongoing and added: 'No Premiership club has ever gone into any form of insolvency and it would be setting a precedent. It could mean the end of this club as we know it and many years, if not decades, spent recovering.'

Krasner's grim forecast could be a tactical ploy to apply pressure on behalf of a group that is believed to include former Bradford chairman Geoffrey Richmond, property developer Simon Morris, entrepreneur Melvyn Levy and one-time Huddersfield chairman Terry Fisher.

However, Sportsmail understands there are genuine fears Leeds could lose ownership of their Elland Road headquarters as well as most of their squad of senior players. It has emerged that the stadium was used as security against a £60m loan. With Leeds palpably unable to repay their debts, they face the real threat of surrendering the ground to bondholders, should affairs pass into the hands of an administrator.

While they may cling on to the hope of striking a deal to lease it back, they would have no say over its future use and would be powerless to prevent it being sold for other purposes.

With Premier League chairmen keen to press for punitive sanctions at their meeting today and tomorrow should Leeds go into administration, and the near-certainty that it would lead to a mass exodus of players, sources close to Elland Road are in little doubt that the club could be heading for meltdown.