Everyone gains from Repka departure - Pardew

West Ham manager Alan Pardew has admitted it would have been “immoral” to have prevented Tomas Repka leaving the club.

The 32-year-old ends a four-and-a-half-year association with the Hammers next week and will play his final game for them on Monday night when Fulham come to Upton Park.

Repka is returning to the Czech Republic to join Sparta Prague so he does not have to be apart from his two young children and Pardew knew he could not stand in the player’s way for the sake of the team.

He said: “Of course there was a way to keep him as he is under contract but that would have been doing myself a disservice and a club a disservice.

“I have two young kids and if I didn’t see them from three weeks to the next - and sometimes it has been longer than that – then I would not be happy. It would be immoral to say to him “you have to stay”.

“I don’t want to lose him and he has been great for us but that is the decision that is right for West Ham and Tomas Repka.”

Pardew knows he must sign a replacement within the next few days and has lined up Poland international Marcin Baszczynski of Wisla Krakow.

The 27-year-old has been capped 27 times for his country, including against England in the World Cup qualifiers.

It is understood the Polish champions would be willing to sell him for less than £1.5m (€2.2m) and moves have been made for the player to train with the Hammers squad.

Stephen Kelly of Spurs and Ajax’s Nigel de Jong have also been considered but whoever eventually does step into Repka’s shoes will find it difficult to match up to the Czech, Pardew insisted.

He said: “Probably in the two years I’ve been here he would be in my top three players, so he’s going to be a big loss to us.

“I think the fans have taken to him because of the eccentric style he has got and perhaps a little bit of that hot-headedness they like as well.”

Repka arrived from Italy as a centre-back but was switched to right-back by Pardew, who urged him to remain there when he gets back to his homeland.

He said: “Ultimately he has adjusted to where I wanted to play him – at right-back – and he’s been brilliant there.

“I hope when he leaves us that he stays there because I think if he goes back to centre-half he’d be doing himself a disservice.

“He is a tremendous right-back and he could play in the World Cup.”