No compensation claim says Blades skipper

Sheffield United captain Chris Morgan insists the club's players haven't discussed the possibility of launching individual compensation claims against West Ham.

An independent arbitration panel last week ruled in favour of Sheffield United in their claim for compensation from West Ham over the Carlos Tevez affair.

The panel have yet to determine the size of the payout, but the Blades are claiming in excess of 30 million pounds from the London club for being relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the 2006-7 season, when a Tevez-inspired Hammers side beat Manchester United to clinch top-flight safety.

The Premier League fined West Ham a record 5.5 million pounds for fielding Tevez and Javier Mascherano when they were ineligible to play under league rules regarding third-party ownership.

And it has since been reported that the Blades' players are considering their own additional legal action against the Londoners, which could amount to further millions of pounds, for lost bonuses and reduced wages.

But after Sheffield United's 2-1 Coca-Cola Championship win over Watford yesterday, Morgan said: “Where it's come from I've no idea.

“There's been no meeting that I'm aware of that's taken place with any players this week.

“We've been thinking about the Watford game, not what's going on.

“We've always said as players we can't get involved in what goes on at that side, that's down to the chairman and chief executive and people like that.

“That's their job. We're employed by this football club to play football, not to set meetings up talkng about money and things like that.

“I think if there is anything there the chairman will pull the players and say, 'Listen, this is what's happening', but no, as far as I'm aware there's been nothing.

“We've not even thought about it. It's something that has never cropped up. It's never been thrown about.

“On Tuesday morning when we got up for the Arsenal game it was on the breaking news that the club had won the arbitration and things like that.

“But we have nothing to do with that. We've never got involved in it. Obviously people ask us questions about it and we've got to try to answer as openly as we can. But we don't get involved in that.”

West Ham have confirmed they will appeal against the tribunal's ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.