Etherington on way out if West Ham fail

West Ham winger Matthew Etherington looks certain to leave if the club fail to win promotion to the Premiership.

Defeat by Preston in Monday's Championship play-off final in Cardiff is likely to result in the departure of several players.

Manager Alan Pardew said: "Matty Etherington has had a truly awful year with injuries but now he's back and I am desperate for him to stay. We need to be promoted for that to happen, though."

Even so, Pardew is excited by the emergence of young players such as Anton Ferdinand, Elliott Ward and Mark Noble and is adamant that, if West Ham do go up, the club will not gamble with their future again by agreeing punitive contracts with players.

"Relegation from the Premiership is like falling off a cliff," Pardew said. "It's a big issue and one which should be addressed by the authorities because the gap is too big.

"I've been a manager in the Football League for five years now and I've never been more convinced about that.

"In the past, relegation from the top division was manageable but not now. What would happen if Roman Abramovich walked away from Chelsea? How would the club cope with that?

"In the past, clubs such as ours, Leeds and Sunderland had no expectation of dropping out of the Premiership so the contracts were done in such a way that there was no shelter.

"Now it is different. All contracts in the future have to be geared for that possibility and there will be clauses stipulating a 50 per cent reduction in salary or a free transfer in the event of relegation."