Pardew takes swipe at Hammers fans ahead of final

WEST HAM manager Alan Pardew has revealed that the club’s financial problems had proved far worse than he had first believed.

After a trying season, Pardew is on the verge of guiding the Hammers back to the Premiership. Victory over Preston in today's play-off final would earn the east London club a place in the top flight for 2005/06.

An estimated £30m debt means that a win at the Millennium Stadium is paramount and Pardew admitted he had been surprised by the off-the-field difficulties of the club for whom he left Reading under bitter circumstances in late 2003.