West Ham would veto Tottenham's use of Olympic Stadium

Hammers vice-chair Karren Brady has suggested the club would not allow a rival to use the ground

Karren Brady has suggested West Ham would not allow a rival club to use the stadium (AFP/Getty)

Karren Brady has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur would be barred from using the Olympic Stadium should they want to for the 2017-18 season.

West Ham United will move into the Olympic Stadium in 2016 and would have a veto over other users of the stadium. Vice-chairman Brady warned that they would probably exercise that veto should certain teams apply for groundsharing.

“In reality they probably could – but only with our permission,” Brady said when asked if another club could share the stadium with West Ham. “No one has asked us for our permission and if they did we would probably say no, depending on who it is – if you get my drift.”

Tottenham’s new stadium is unlikely to be ready in time for the 2017-18 season, forcing them to look elsewhere for a year. The Olympic Stadium, where Spurs had initially wanted to move permanently, was among the likeliest options, along with MK Dons’ ground and Wembley.

But Brady confirmed that West Ham would probably not be open to sharing the ground once they move in, starting a 99-year lease in August 2016. “We are the anchor tenant for the winter matches,” Brady said, “and nothing else can happen in that time without our permission and our football matches take priority over everything else. If there are events at the stadium we have approved, we do not see any of the revenue from that.”

Tottenham start their Capital One Cup campaign on Wednesday night against Nottingham Forest. Mauricio Pochettino admitted that his team’s defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday had been a “big hit in the face”, but believes that could be precisely what Tottenham need.

Pochettino is demanding a response after a disappointing run of form, which culminated in their worst performance of the season as they lost at home to West Bromwich.

Pochettino was angry afterwards and warned his players that they were fighting for their places ahead of Saturday’s north London derby with Arsenal. The head coach hopes that the events of this week will be a wake-up call to his players.

West Ham will take up a 99-year lease at the Olympic Stadium from August 2016, and Tottenham will have to find an alternative ground to use while theirs is built GETTY (Getty)

“To build a winning mentality and a winning team, sometimes you need to lose,” Pochettino said. “You need a big hit in your face sometimes to change the energy and to realise that you need to fight every game, you need to fight every training session and you need to play like a team. You need to show more energy like a team in the competition.”

Pochettino was visibly frustrated during the game on Sunday afternoon and revealed that he had been very frank with his players in the aftermath.

“My behaviour is private with the players,” he said. “Maybe you can see on the touchline how my behaviour is, my personality. I am straight with them, I told them all the truth.”

Pochettino made 10 changes between the Europa League game last Thursday night and the Premier League game on Sunday, but he told his players that they all need to justify selection and that their reputations would not sway him.

“I select the team, and the players show me,” Pochettino said. “They are not different. The name is nothing to me when I pick my team. I tell the truth to their face. They know that they compete in every training session and game and they need to show a good performance to keep their position in the squad.”

Despite his anger at Sunday’s defeat, Pochettino remains confident that the players are moving in the right direction, as long as they continue to learn and do not allow a repeat of that performance.

“We analyse all the time where we go wrong, but I have to admit that I am happy with the way things are going,” said Pochettino. “I am very upset and disappointed with the last game. But I think despite that we are heading in the right way. We need to learn from this situation because we cannot allow a day like West Brom to happen often.”

Irvine prepared to make tough calls at Albion

West Bromwich Albion’s head coach, Alan Irvine, insists he is ready to make the big decisions after dropping Swedish defender Jonas Olsson from his starting line-up at the weekend.

Olsson’s errors had cost goals against Swansea City and Everton, and he was replaced by Joleon Lescott in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Irvine has a fully fit squad available for the Capital One Cup game against Hull City after previously struggling with injuries and can now shape his team.

“It wasn’t easy telling Jonas what I intended to do,” Irvine told the club’s official site.

“I have huge respect for him. He is a top professional and a very, very good player, but he has made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes, which have proved costly in the last couple of games.

“I have a full range of choices for the first time and I had to look a couple of people in the eye and tell them they were not playing. It is never pleasant but it is part of the job.

“And you can be absolutely certain that Jonas will remain a very important member of the squad.”

Olsson could be recalled for the visit of the Tigers to The Hawthorns, with Irvine considering changes.