A member of the West Ham board has been fingered as the source who revealed that Martin O'Neill was set to replace Avram Grant.
According to Times journalist Oliver Kay, the leak emanated from within the West Ham boardroom hours ahead of West Ham's vital Premier League clash with Arsenal.The source was considered so strong that all major news outlets - including the BBC and SkySports - ran with the story, despite being unable to name the individual responsible for claiming O'Neill was ready to replace Grant - and despite West Ham's official press team maintaining that contrary to reports, Grant's position was not under any immediate threat.
Speaking on his Twitter page late last night, Kay said: "Never quite sure who's the biggest fool on WHUFC board, but leaking that they'd got O'Neill (who has of course turned them down) was absurd."
O'Neill - who was at West Ham's recent FA Cup clash with Barnsley - is thought to have rejected West Ham's overtures after his link with Avram Grant's job was revealed.
The Irishman is said to have been furious at the leak and the club's lack of professionalism and withdrew from the process as a result.
* Jack Collison posted the following on Twitter last night: "Sitting and thinkin...feeling like I could let loose and tell people my thoughts but shud probably keep quiet..."
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