David Sullivan is still playing a major role in decision-making at West Ham according to Christian Purslow, the former top executive of Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

Hammers News has previously reported that David Sullivan has no influence over West Ham’s decisions since resigning from the board in the summer.

Many fans remain sceptical of that information from inside the club, especially after Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky joined forces to block Amanda Staveley’s West Ham takeover bid by each upping their stakes to 40 and 46 per cent respectively.

One factor which would disprove theories Sullivan has influence over West Ham’s big decisions would be that he felt Nuno Espirito Santo should be sacked after relegation while Kretinsky chose to keep the Portuguese on for continuity.

Purslow claims Sullivan still pulls the strings at West Ham

But now Christian Purslow has further fuelled conspiracy theories regarding Sullivan’s influence at West Ham.

Speaking with Henry Winter on The Football Boardroom podcast, Purslow says he believes Sullivan was directly involved in the sacking of Nuno and appointment of Scott Parker.

And he feels Sullivan and Kretinsky are “clearly working together behind the scenes”.

“Fundamentally, these two fellows (Sullivan and Kretinsky) can agree on one thing – ‘We need to get back to the Premier League quickly’,” Purslow said.

“And my take, sitting here today, they may not agree on very much, but the managerial change they clearly have agreed.

“And I suspect that Scott Parker is much more David Sullivan’s cup of tea than extending Nuno.

Purslow’s claim will not go down well with a large section of the Hammers fanbase, who have been campaigning for Sullivan to leave the club for several years.

Although Purslow’s connections in the upper echelons of football suggest his theory may be a well-informed one, the party line from within West Ham is that Sullivan has no input on decision-making.

So while that may have required his signature on any decision to sack Nuno – given his compensation is around £3m – it does not necessarily mean he had a hand in wielding the axe or choosing Parker.

Where Purslow’s theory does have legs is that Sullivan’s knowledge of English football would be far greater than that of Kretinsky and director of recruitment Nils Koppen.

So they may well have leaned on the former Hammers chief over which direction the club should turn next.

But as Hammers News and other outlets have reported consistently, West Ham and Sullivan’s camp both insist he has no control over the day-to-day running of the club.