Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric has revealed he turned down the chance to come to the aid of cash-strapped Albion.

He met with the Board a decade ago, when current manager Martin Hinshelwood was assistant to Barry Lloyd and the Seagulls were in deep financial trouble.

"Bob McNab, who was working with me in America, took me down to see a game and look at the club," said Mandaric. "The time wasn't right.

"I sent a letter a few days later when I went back to America explaining I couldn't do anything but thanking them for the opportunity. You never know what I could have changed or influenced. They were a very poor club."

Mandaric, who made his fortune in computers, has poured more than £22 million into Portsmouth since taking control in May 1999.