THE head of UK Athletics claims there is a clear moral choice to be made over the future of the Olympic Stadium: to take Tottenham's "filthy lucre" or keep the promises made when London was bidding for the 2012 Games and go with West Ham.

Ed Warner, UK Athletics chairman, is firmly in West Ham's camp with the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) expected to make a decision at the end of the month.

Tottenham claim their plan to demolish the stadium and rebuild a purpose-built football ground, plus redevelop Crystal Palace athletics stadium, would be far more sustainable and lucrative - and avoid the problems of a running track inside the stadium.

But Warner said: "The decision-makers have a choice of taking the filthy lucre offered by Tottenham or doing right by the Olympic Movement and standing by the promises made by London in Singapore.

"In my mind it's an easy decision to make."

Warner also denied that West Ham's economic case does not stack up.

He added: "I think West Ham's economic case is rock solid and based on them being a Championship club in the first instance.

"So they are not being imprudent, they would have a loan from Newham council and there is no public subsidy, no drain on the public purse."

Tottenham are aware of the need for London to have an athletics legacy after the 2012 Olympics and have identified a renovation of Crystal Palace as their best option for the sport.

But Warner described that as "a meagre consolation prize", adding: "It's not in the best part of London and not in the Olympic Park and we don't think it could be turned into a stadium we could take the World Championships to."

UK Athletics are intending to bid for the 2017 World Championships being based at the Olympic Stadium. The need to express their interest by March.

However Rick Parry, the former Premier League and Liverpool chief executive, has expressed major doubts about West Ham's bid to take over the stadium due to their plans to keep the running track.

Parry said: "Football-specific stadia are far more suited to the needs of the football-going public than stadiums with an athletic track round it.

"My experience of stadiums around Europe is that when you have a track you lose atmosphere, and the further from the pitch you are the less intimate the experience.

"Having spent many years on the plans for the new Anfield I know how critically important it is to get the sight-lines right and the viewing distances right, in terms of maximising revenue and the supporters getting the best match-day experience.

"I think it does have a genuine effect on attendances - the more you meet the needs of the paying public the more likely they are to come."

Gus Poyet, the former Tottenham midfielder and now manager of Brighton, said his experiences with the running track at the Withdean Stadium have not been positive.

Poyet said: "The track is one of the biggest problems we have and why we are desperate to move to the new stadium.

"As a foreigner one of the best things about playing here is that the supporters are very close - the atmosphere is a massive difference and it should be a football stadium and not an athletics stadium."