West Ham deny illegal move for Reading manager

WEST HAM yesterday categorically denied encouraging Alan Pardew to walk out on Reading after the League Managers Association (LMA) called for an inquiry into his resignation as Royals manager.

The Hammers were twice denied permission to speak to Pardew about the vacant managerial post at Upton Park by Reading chairman John Madejski, who is refusing to accept his manager’s resignation.

But calls from LMA chief executive John Barnwell for a Football League inquiry into West Ham’s role in the affair prompted an angry response from the Hammers.