Grant is said to be top of the Hammers' wanted list to replace Gianfranco Zola, who was axed last week as co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan aim to take the club forwards following a campaign which flirted with relegation.

Portsmouth's administrator Andrew Andronikou appears resigned to Grant's departure as the Israeli, who guided Pompey to the FA Cup final against all the odds, failed to get the assurances over the club's long-term financial stability.

Grant, 55, still has a two years left to run on a deal at Fratton Park which may well have been invalidated anyway by non-payment of wages, while Portsmouth appear ready to waive any compensation claim.

A formal approach, however, has yet to be confirmed, as Grant heads the four on the Irons' final shortlist, which also includes Ian Holloway and Dave Jones - both hoping for promotion to the top flight with Blackpool and Cardiff respectively via the play-off final.

Holloway, though, brushed off the speculation, insisting he was focusing on Wembley, while Blackburn today issued a hands-off warning over their boss Sam Allardyce.

Whomever the Hammers board eventually appoint, the new manager is likely to want to rebuild a squad which only just escaped the drop.

Were that to be Grant, who guided Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final, a £7million move for Everton striker Yakubu Ayegbeni would appear on the cards, as well as bids to bring in two Pompey players, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jamie O'Hara, who was on loan from Tottenham.

Sullivan and Gold, though, intend to make a swift appointment, expected ahead of the World Cup.

"Our efforts are focused on recruiting a high-calibre manager with the necessary experience to deliver good football and, most importantly, results," a joint statement read.

"A shortlist of candidates has been identified and the appointment will be made with enough time to prepare for pre-season."

While the new owners have made no secret of being open to offers for players as they look to slash the Irons' wage bill, there will also be proactive moves in the transfer market as part of the "10-point pledge".

The statement continued: "For too long, the focus has been on players leaving rather than arriving.

"We will strengthen in the right areas to ensure an exciting and balanced squad that is well placed to cope with the rigours of a Premier League season.

"Our main aim will be to bring in players hungry to do well who share our ambitions and aspirations.

"We will make sure homegrown talent nurtured in the 'West Ham way' will always be given the chance to complement established players brought in from elsewhere."

West Ham's precarious financial state was also addressed by Sullivan and Gold, who assumed control from the club's former Icelandic owners, who were thrown into crisis by the global economic downturn.

"We have a responsibility to ensure this club is never again placed in a perilous position," the statement continued.

"Great strides have been taken to get us on a sound financial footing, but there is still a way to go.

"Difficult decisions have had to be made - and that will continue to be the case - but our bottom line on the bottom line is to ensure the club survives."

A large part of Sullivan and Gold's vision for the future is a move from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

The eight-week deadline for would-be tenants of the £537m venue in east London to lodge expressions of interest to the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) ended yesterday.

West Ham made a joint bid with Newham Council and spent time in "meaningful discussions'' with a range of organisations include UK Athletics (UKA), Essex Cricket and AEG, the owners of the nearby O2 Arena, to try to broaden and fine-tune their proposal.

Today's statement reiterated their hope to move to the stadium, which as part of the 2012 legacy programme must be retained as an athletics venue.

Sullivan and Gold's statement added: "Leaving the Boleyn Ground will be a wrench, but the Olympic Stadium is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in a financial and football sense.

"Our potential partnership with Newham Council promises to take this club to a new level, while protecting our history and traditions.

"To move forward, we have to move - but always with an eye on the past."