Hammers rebuff LMA complaint

West Ham today categorically denied encouraging Alan Pardew to walk out on Reading after the League Managers Association 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 on Thursday.

A statement from company secretary Scott Duxbury said: “Mr Barnwell states the LMA is keen to uncover just how it became public knowledge that Alan Pardew’s name was top of West Ham United’s wanted list.

“The clear implication is that West Ham United made this information public in an attempt to induce Alan Pardew to breach his contract with Reading. This accusation is categorically denied.

“As the Football League rules require, West Ham United approached Mr Madejski directly and did not release publicly the fact it has made such an approach.

“It was Mr Madejski alone who chose to tell the world that West Ham United had made an approach for Alan Pardew and that is precisely why, in John Barnwell’s words, ‘it became public knowledge that Alan Pardew’s name was top of West Ham United’s wanted list’.”

Hammers managing director Paul Aldridge made his first approach to Madejski last Friday, and followed that up with a second approach on Monday.

On both occasions Madejski refused him permission to speak to Pardew, citing a clause in the 42-year-old’s contract which only allows him to talk to a Premiership club and not a First Division rival.

But it was Reading who made both approaches public on their website, prompting feverish speculation which eventually ended with Pardew handing in his notice on Wednesday.

Pardew’s assistant Kevin Dillon will take charge of the team when, by ironic twist of the fixture list, they visit Upton Park this weekend while the former Crystal Palace and Charlton midfielder considers his options.

But the Football League admitted that they will investigate the situation if Reading complain about West Ham’s conduct.

A spokesman said: “To date, The Football League has received no complaints from any of its member clubs regarding the Alan Pardew issue.

“Were it to receive a specific complaint from a member club, it would investigate the issues relating to that complaint to determine whether any formal charges were appropriate.

“Until such time as any complaint is made this remains a private matter between the clubs and individuals concerned.”

The LMA had earlier announced its concern over the affair in a statement which revealed that Barnwell had spoken to Pardew, warning him not to expect their support if he terminated his contract unilaterally.

It read: “Alan understands the LMA’s position in respect of the code of conduct, which states: ‘A manager shall strictly observe the terms of his contract with his club and shall not (either by himself or through any third party) enter into negotiations with another club relating to his employment without having first obtained the permission of his club to do so’.

“What the LMA is keen to uncover is just how it became public knowledge that Alan Pardew’s name was top of West Ham’s wanted list in their search for a successor to Glenn Roeder, therefore creating this difficult position in which the three parties now find themselves.

“The LMA believes, and indeed expects, that this matter should be the subject of a full and immediate inquiry by the Football League.

“The situation that has arisen gives further weight to the LMA’s assertion that a regulation dealing with the early termination of manager’s contracts should be re-introduced by the Football League.

“The Association has been lobbying the authorities over this issue for some considerable time in a bid to ensure that, as the code of conduct dictates, contracts should be honoured by both parties – the club and the manager – and should only be terminated by mutual agreement, with any compensation package being strictly adhered to."