SPL faces D-Day for Setanta cash

Setanta has not made its final payment to the SPL for this season

The Scottish Premier League's board will meet again on Friday amid fears over broadcaster Setanta's failure to pay £3m as part of its TV deal.

One club chairman has told BBC Scotland that the SPL must decide soon whether to stick by the Irish company or seek a new broadcasting partner.

But he has warned that some clubs could go out of business if the broadcaster cannot honour its contract.

There are concerns it will be unable to honour its new four-year deal.

Setanta, which last year agreed to pay a vastly improved £125m over four seasons for exclusive live coverage from 2010, has been attempting to renegotiate a number of its contracts because of cash-flow problems.

And, on Monday, it failed to make its final £3m payment for the current season to the SPL.

There is a certain period by which Setanta will have to pay up - and we are talking weeks not months Scottish Premier League source

The SPL board held a conference call on Wednesday to discuss the problems with Setanta.

One SPL chairman said that there was more work to be done as the broadcaster sought further backing from its investors.

He told BBC Scotland that a decision could be reached by Friday and expressed unhappiness at the lack of information coming from the SPL board.

"There is a certain period by which Setanta will have to pay up - and we are talking weeks not months," he said.

"We'll do everything we can to keep them going, but we'll then have to decide whether to stick with them or dump them."