Pardew warns over owner-interference

West Ham manager Alan Pardew warned any potential new owner that he would walk out of Upton Park rather than be told who to pick in the team.

Pardew was responding angrily to suggestions the transfer agreement for Argentina internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano states they must play in every game this season.

The businessman who orchestrated that transfer coup, Kia Joorabchian, is now considering making a bid for the club.

Pardew took the opportunity to confirm he would never stand for any boardroom interference in team selection.

“If anybody tries to tell me what team to pick I will go. I will not accept that and I want to make that clear right now,” said Pardew.

“I won’t accept that and I make that quite clear now so if there is a potential owner thinking that might happen, he best think again or he better think of somebody else.

“I am very proud of not just what I’ve done but also what my team’s done.

“To think I would put that at risk in terms of somebody selecting or even implying that I would have to pick certain players, I just wouldn’t accept it. It’s not what me or my team are made of.

“The most important thing is that through whatever happens – and let’s be honest I don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of the ownership of this club – we want to go forward from here because we’ve come a long way.”

The future of the club is up in the air after West Ham confirmed they had held “exploratory” takeover discussions.

It is thought those talks were with Joorabchian, though the 35-year-old insists any takeover bid would not be forthcoming in the immediate future following the recent death of his father, Mohammed.

His statement to the stock exchange read: “Kia Joorabchian wishes to clarify that he has not ruled out the option of making a bid for West Ham United PLC but, due to a recent family bereavement, the immediate focus of his attention is on family matters.

“There can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made.”

Joorabchian bought both Tevez and Mascherano for Corinthians after his former company Media Sports Investments had taken over running of the Brazilian club in a 10-year deal.

He first investigated a takeover bid for West Ham last summer but a potential £200m (€295.5m) deal was shelved after MSI failed to agree on a valuation for the club with current West Ham chairman Terence Brown.

Joorabchian resigned from MSI in June and is now working as an independent investor, though he has retained an interest in Tevez and Maschereno.

Pardew cannot comment on the proposed takeover, though he was supportive of Joorabchian’s investment interest last year.

He said in August 2005: “It’s a positive thing that people want to invest in the club. Someone is looking at us and thinking: ‘Something is happening there.’

“I don’t want to grow too many headlines about the takeover but of course I could do a lot with £100m (€147.8m).”

But there are concerns in some quarters about where Joorabchian’s funding would come from if he launched a bid for West Ham.

It is reported he is building a consortium of financiers from the Middle East, while Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili confirmed on Friday evening he has considered investing in a bid for West Ham.

A statement issued on his behalf read: “It is true that Kia Joorabchian is my friend and we have done business together in the past.

“At this time I am not involved in any possible bid for West Ham but I am thinking about it and cannot exclude such a possibility in the future.”

Joorabchian has also been closely linked to Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who has been granted political asylum in London and is a former business associate of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Berezovsky insists he is not interested in investing in West Ham, either now or in the future.