Coventry have reached a ‘Time to Pay’ agreement with HM Revenue and Customs following “cashflow imbalances” caused by early-season match postponements.

The first four games of the Sky Blues’ campaign were affected when the pitch at the Coventry Building Society Arena was deemed “unsafe and unplayable”, with three games postponed and a Carabao Cup clash with Bristol City played at Burton. A further match was called off in September due to the death of the Queen.

The club said the ‘Time To Pay’ agreement gives them “an extended period of time to pay HMRC and ensure that our legal commitments to them continue to be met”.

Coventry will be unable to sign players until they have met the terms but, with the agreement due to end in December, it is not expected to affect their ability to do business in the January transfer window.

Sky Blues chief executive Dave Boddy said on the club’s website: “As we have indicated in recent weeks, the postponement of four out of five home league games at the start of this season has had a significant impact on the club and our current cashflow.

“The Wasps/ACL (Arena Coventry Limited) position has presented some serious challenges to the football club and the sporting performance, and distress to our supporters, and is continuing to do so.

“This has been combined with the club providing initial finance for the pitch improvements, though overall we will not pay any additional costs on top of our rent agreement at the Arena.

“This agreement with HMRC will help us in the running of the club in the short term and ensure our commitments continue to be met, and we have already paid three of the six required instalments. I would like to thank HMRC for their understanding of the situation and working with us on this.

“While we are unable to sign players until December, I would like to reassure fans that the timing of this agreement means that we can address this issue now and that any transfer activity in the January window will be unaffected.”

Meanwhile, the club insisted on Sunday afternoon that, while they are “exploring alternative back-up venues”, they “still hope” they can hold Tuesday’s Sky Bet Championship match against Blackburn at the CBS Arena.