Warnock may sue West Ham

Warnock: 'I'm disappointed from a playing perspective as we'd been doing so well' (GETTY IMAGES)

Former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock has said he is considering suing West Ham United for loss of earnings in a fresh twist in the long-running dispute over Argentine striker Carlos Tevez.

Yesterday, the clubs reached an out-of-court settlement for compensation to seemingly end the row that was sparked by Sheffield United's relegation from the Premier League in 2007.

Sheffield United sought payment because Tevez, deemed to have had a key role in West Ham's top-flight survival that year, was ineligible to play for the London club under league rules regarding third-party ownership. He is now at Manchester United.

"I'll be looking into this now. I just wanted to see the club's case out of the way first," Warnock, now manager of Championship side Crystal Palace, told the Daily Mail.

"As far as I'm concerned, I should still be a Premier League manager. And I think the players have a case, too."

Some 20 members of Sheffield United's 2007 squad were also considering seeking compensation for loss of wages and bonuses, local media reported.

"The players' claim will continue. We have made correspondence with West Ham's lawyers as recently as the end of last week," players' lawyer Chris Farnell told The Times.

West Ham officials were not immediately available for comment.

West Ham were fined a record £5.5m by the Premier League in April, 2007 over the transfers of Tevez and compatriot Javier Mascherano but escaped a points deduction which would have effectively sealed their relegation.

Warnock said Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore should have lost his job over his handling of the issue.

"If it was any other club, Scudamore would have made sure the facts came out," he told the Daily Mail. "I find it amazing that he has kept his job. If it had been a big club, the truth would have come out earlier and it would have been sorted."

The clubs did not disclose how much yesterday's settlement was worth but The Independent believes the figure to be around £20m.