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West Ham’s hopes of moving into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games have received a boost after UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner described its proposal as “very credible”.

The club’s owners David Sullivan and David Gold have held talks with Newham Council over a joint bid to occupy the stadium, with a reduced 50,000-capacity for football matches, after the Olympics.

And Warner told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek: "West Ham have put their hat in the ring. It's a very credible proposal and one worth looking at. It would work as a football stadium."

Several high-profile figures, including Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell and former London mayor Ken Livingstone, have questioned switching its use from athletics to football.

American sports and entertainment company AEG, the owner of the O2 Arena, has also expressed an interest in taking over the venue, along with more than 100 other parties.

Potential bidders have until May 17 to register their interest with a final shortlist of about 30 to be announced in March 2011.

Warner added: "I'm very excited about what it will be as a venue and there are some very interesting proposals coming forward.

"West Ham have already put their hat in the ring – they haven't formerly submitted their letter yet, but they are clearly very interested and working hard.

"I've spent a lot of time with them I think that it is going to be a very credible proposal and certainly one we could work with. There may well be others.”

He continued: "Those people who said football won't work in the Olympic Stadium haven't stood in the middle of the stadium, which I've done a number of times.

"If you stand in there, you realise for an 80,000 stadium it is actually very compact and you could certainly reduce the capacity without cutting the infrastructure of the stadium.

"I think it will feel great as a football stadium and I speak as a football fan as well the chairman of UK Athletics.

"I think you'd find West Ham would cover the [athletics] track in the winter season so it wouldn't look like you had a track between you and the pitch.

"I think it works very well. You have to stand there and see it to believe it. I think West Ham have stood there, thought about it and really think it would work for them."