West Ham United have confirmed that they still hope to become the main tenants of the Olympic Stadium, despite news emerging of a delay in the decision.

Legal challenges from Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient put an end to West Ham's hopes of buying the stadium in a partnership bid with Newham Council in 2011.

But they are still hopeful that the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will choose them as their preferred bidders for tenancy.

West Ham reiterated their interest in the stadium in a statement released by the club.

"It is now 20 months since West Ham United

 were initially named as the preferred bidder to occupy the Olympic Stadium post-Games. We are obviously disappointed, that three bids later, a decision has yet to be reached.

"We do however remain fully committed to becoming the catalyst to galvanise the Olympic Park

 by bringing people, jobs and a robust and sustainable commercial offer that guarantees a return to the taxpayer of the money already invested."

The LLDC cheif executive Dennis Hone said yesterday: "In the scheme of things if it slips another month or two I would rather get the right solution.

"I would hate to bung someone in there and see it fall apart in five years. If it takes a couple of extra months to get there, then so be it. We have had discussions with all of the bidders.

"The difficulty is that we are balancing the adaptations we have to make to the stadium against the proposals that have come in and the benefits - financial and otherwise - that those proposals bring. If it was a knockout [verdict] it would be an easy decision, but it's not."