Coventry City has until Boxing Day to pay its landlord or face the prospect of being wound up.

The League One football club owes Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) £1.1m in rent for its use of the Ricoh Arena that the Sky Blues has called home for the last four years.

The dispute, which began in April, has now come to a head with the club being given the tough ultimatum of paying its due or potentially face an untimely end to its existence.

Coventry City Council, which owns a half-stake in the stadium claim they have run out of options, deputy conservative leader John Blundell, shadow cabinet member for finance, said: 'The club have ignored deadlines, and there would be little point giving them another deadline. At some point, things have to come to a head. We are there now, or very soon.'

In a lengthy riposte, Coventry City revealed its "disappointment" at ACL's demands, rather than "negotiating an affordable level of rent, in line with that paid by other clubs".

The club cite the annual rent of £1.28m it pays to ACL as the highest in both League One and the Championship division, where the average is £170,000 and £290,000 respectively.

The statement went on to say: 'The Club's objective in requesting these negotiations with ACL has been only to bring about a state of commercial normality, where CCFC pays the same level of rent and has access to the same type of ancillary revenues as the other football clubs with which it competes. It is unsustainable for CCFC to be put at a severe financial disadvantage to its peers.

'While we have been seeking to normalise the rent, we have continued to pay match day costs to ensure that ACL is not left out-of-pocket. These costs amount to over £250,000 per season, much more than the average rent paid by League One clubs.

'In addition to defraying ACL's match day costs, the Club has been subsidising ACL's general overheads ever since the Sky Blues started playing at the Ricoh Arena, amounting to many millions of pounds over seven years.

'The Club remains committed to the city and people of Coventry. However, its viability depends on it finding an alternative home ground where it can afford to play.'

Another club facing financial difficulties is Bristol City which has reported losses of £14m, a rise of £3m over the course of the year.