Co-chairman David Gold has denied that the Hammers HAD to be debt-free to take up the anchor tenancy of the Olympic Stadium.

We revealed on this site a few days ago that David Sullivan turned club banker to clear the club’s 44m debt which had to be paid off by January 1 2014.

We reported the total was owed to five banks and Sullivan’s extraordinary undertaking has ensured that the Hammers could move forward into a confident future.

But Gold  reacted strongly to suggestions this was only done to fulfill some obligation placed upon the club that it had to be free of all debts to move into the OS.

He said: “That was never the case at all . It’s a story that appears to have gained some currency but it’s simply not the case.

The decision to go to the stadium debt-free was entirely ours – it was, if you like a condition we placed upon ourselves!

“David’s move in taking a bigger shareholding and the  cash used as a loan to pay off the existing bankers is exactly as you reported it.”

Go to https://www.claretandhugh.info/sullivan-turns-banker-to-clear-irons-debt/ for the earlier story.