SOCCER:WEST HAM'S victory in the race to take over the Olympic Stadium will come as a relief to the politicians, but leaves Tottenham's plans to cement their place in football's elite in tatters.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company’s (OPLC) board will announce their choice of tenant for the post-2012 stadium at a news conference in Westminster this morning, with board members being recommended by officials to choose West Ham.

That will see the athletics track retained inside the stadium and avoid huge embarrassment to ministers and the London mayor Boris Johnson, who would otherwise have been accused of breaking promises to the International Olympic Committee.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has previously suggested the club would consider applying for a judicial review if they believed that their bid was not given fair consideration. The likelihood of that has receded slightly although all options are still being kept open.

Levy has already declared Spurs’ alternative stadium plan, the Northumberland Park project, to be financially unviable and the club now face the grim prospect of remaining at their old home until a third way out of White Hart Lane can be found.

Tottenham yesterday expressed their concerns, however, that the news of West Ham’s victory had leaked out ahead of the OPLC meeting.

The club said in a statement: “Whilst we are concerned to read that there appears to have been a leak of information from the OPLC about what their recommendation and decision may be, we regard it as premature to make any comment at this stage.”

The recommendation from OPLC executives does not automatically mean that West Ham will win the backing of the board members, but it would be a major surprise if that was not the case.

The board’s decision also has to be ratified by two British Government departments and the London Mayor’s office, and that is likely to take place next week. Again, it would be a huge shock if the OPLC decision was not rubber-stamped by the ministers and Johnson.