The Premier League last week handed West Ham a 5.5-million-pound fine, instead of a points deduction, for irregularities over the two Argentinians last August.

"There's six clubs involved and I know there are three at present receiving legal advice," Whelan, whose club is in a fight with West Ham for Premiership survival, was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper.

"You have owners involved as well as chairmen," he added. "You have the likes of Middlesbrough, the likes of Fulham where the owners, like myself, stay in the background. They have come forward big-style to say 'we're not happy with this'."

Chief among those clubs is Sheffield United who admitted to taking steps independently of other clubs to protect their own future.

Sheffield United Plc chairman Kevin McCabe said he has already instructed his lawyers to look into the case.

"There was no hanging around, no grass growing around our feet," McCabe told the Sheffield Star newspaper.

"We took this course of action independently of anyone else in an attempt to try and protect ourselves should we suffer as a consequence of this bizarre decision.

"We have some excellent and reputable lawyers who have already been looking at this matter for us for a week.

"Obviously we hope that we don't suffer as a result, but we felt this needed to be done."

Whelan feels the situation could be averted if West Ham do go down - which he sees as a fitting punishment for breaking the rules and their "blatant lies".

"Football should be decided on the football field, and I'm a big believer in that," remarked Whelan.

"If we have to go to court then it will be a shame, but this is a very, very serious offence West Ham have committed.

"I've no anger directed towards West Ham or their fans, apart from the fact they told lies.

"Whether the people who told those lies are still there or not , I don't know.

"But West Ham have broken the rules and they should have had a much stiffer penalty than 5.5million pounds - a figure that is peanuts to the 35million pounds they will get if they stay up.

"They should have had what every other club would have got if they had done this, and been punished properly with a 10-point penalty.

"Good luck to them because they've got away with it, but I hope in the end that justice prevails and they go down."

Whelan got a vote of confidence from Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, who on Friday backed the right of Premiership clubs to seek legal advice over West Ham's punishment.

"It is nothing really to do with us but I do understand it," said the Scot.

"They have every right to take advice on it because it was a strange decision."

Given the devastating financial implications of sliding into the Championship, Ferguson has total sympathy with all his fellow managers who are scrapping for survival.

He may be embroiled in his own battle to win the title, but Ferguson feels the pressure on those at the bottom far outweighs that on himself.

And he feels particular sympathy for Wigan, who were the victim of several debatable decisions by referee Phil Dowd at Arsenal, which could have made all the difference in their fight for survival.

"I feel for the clubs at the bottom," he said.

"The pressure on teams like ourselves doesn't compare with the pressure those teams are under.

"Paul Jewell has done a fantastic job at Wigan but they have never recovered from the decision that went against them at Arsenal.

"You just hope they can get out of it. That is where the real pressure comes as opposed to teams like us trying to win the league."