West Ham United fans have a dream. In two weeks they will follow their team to Old Trafford and watch Carlos Tévez and his teammates beat Manchester United. West Ham will stay up, Wigan Athletic, Charlton Athletic and Watford will go down and the East End of London will rejoice.

Beating the drop after being ten points from safety in March would be one of the greatest escapes of all time, but as far as Paul Jewell is concerned, it would mean nothing. According to the Wigan manager, the FA Premier League has conspired to keep West Ham in the Barclays Premiership and the London club should have had points deducted on Friday instead of being fined £5.5 million after the inquiry into the transfers of Tévez and Javier Mascherano.

“I heard rumours that if West Ham had been marooned, they would have had points deducted,” Jewell said. “I’d bet you my last penny that if it had been Watford, they would have had points deducted. The Premier League were desperate for West Ham to be marooned — an insider told one of my people, ‘Please beat West Ham because the Premier League know they bottled it.’ ” Although the Wigan manager would not be drawn on whether West Ham had friends in high places, he insisted that Wigan would have been deducted points if they had been found guilty of fielding ineligible players in Premiership matches and that the inquiry panel had reached a compromise.

“If the Premier League have found out that Tévez is owned by a third party, they might have to look at one or two other London clubs who are high up in the table,” Jewell said. “They have set a dangerous precedent, but I think they are frightened of what they would find if they looked at some other clubs.”

Even after all the headlines and controversy, Tévez’s move will look good business if the Argentina forward performs as he did at the JJB Stadium, against Bolton Wanderers at Upton Park on Saturday and at Old Trafford on the last day of the season.

The 23-year-old forward was able to play against Wigan only after he received clearance from the Premier League at 5pm on Friday — another bone of contention for Jewell — but there was no arguing with the rapturous reception that he received from his club’s 6,000 supporters when he was substituted after 83 minutes. By then West Ham had a 3-0 lead thanks to an opportunistic lob by Luis Boa Morte and two breakaway goals by Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harewood that were set up by the fast feet and quick thinking of the Argentina forward.

“Tévez is a good player and I don’t want this to sound like sour grapes, but what would have happened if I had played [Luis Antonio] Valencia, who was suspended today?” Jewell said. “If it would have just been a fine, then whatever fine it was would have been worth it because it could have kept us in the Premiership.”

Valencia will be available to play against Middlesbrough on Saturday after a three-match ban, but Wigan will need more than the return of the Ecuador midfield player to save them from the drop. Although the Premiership would miss Jewell, on this evidence his team belong in the Coca-Cola Championship. Two months ago, Wigan resembled a team who were desperate to climb away from the relegation zone when they won 1-0 away to Manchester City, but on Saturday they were hesitant in defence, pedestrian in midfield and isolated in attack.

“West Ham fully deserved their victory,” Jewell said. “My players were nervous and devoid of ideas and energy. The occasion seemed to get to them. We were poor defensively and we didn’t do anything going forward.”

While Jewell read the “riot act” to his players after the final whistle, Eggert Magnússon, the West Ham chairman, raced to the away team’s dressing-room from his seat in the directors’ box to congratulate his players. Not much has gone right for the Icelandic businessman since he completed his £85 million takeover in November, but he had something to celebrate.

“Friday was an expensive day, but this eases the pain,” Magnússon said after watching his team climb to within a point of safety. “I never lost hope. The team now have the passion and belief to fight for each other and I cannot ask for any more.”