Bilic: Carroll must stay fit to win deal
SLAVEN BILIC has told Andy Carroll he has to show he can stay fit and injury-free this season if he wants to earn a new West Ham contract.
Carroll is approaching the time for talks over an extension to his deal, and the 28-year-old is set to start a third game on the trot when Tottenham visit the London Stadium for today’s derby.
‘This is his season to be fit, to stay fit,’ said West Ham manager Bilic. ‘He’s got two years (on his current contract). If we are talking about his contract, the question mark about him is his fitness, how much he is available during the season.’
While £16million summer signing Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez has been used on the left wing by Bilic, the manager has warned Carroll he has stiff competition to stay as the No 1 striker.
‘I don’t think he was getting injured because he was sloppy and lazy and he thought, “I have no competition, I will play anyway”,’ Bilic said.
‘He is not one that slows down because he feels he is the king. He’s got competition now. He had competition last year on paper but Diafra Sakho was injured.
‘Now we have Chicharito because we didn’t want to stay just on Andy, knowing what happened in the last couple of seasons. It is good to have competition.’
This fixture last season was won by a goal from Manuel Lanzini, but the Argentinian is not available today.
‘Look, we are without Lanzini,’ Bilic said matter-of-factly.
‘We can’t order a bottle of whisky and cry that some players are not playing. I hope (he is fit) for Swansea (on September 30).’
As for Hernandez, he insisted he was happy with being deployed out on the wing. ‘My life doesn’t revolve around goals,’ said the Mexican. ‘I like to be on that pitch, if I play left winger, left midfielder, even left back, wherever.
‘I like to push myself to keep on growing, to adapt to any circumstances. I just love to play football.’ Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino has told his Tottenham squad they owe him a performance in return for a four-figure restaurant bill he picked up this week in the name of club bonding.
The Tottenham manager revealed he took a contingent of 50 on Wednesday night to the Beast crab and steak restaurant off London’s Oxford Street, including the entire first-team squad, coaching staff and chairman Daniel Levy.
The Argentine picked up the hefty tab after a dinner designed to stir extra cohesion in a squad that is yet to hit its stride this season.
‘You need time to create a good dynamic. Not only with tactics but outside (the training ground) too,’ said Pochettino. ‘We put all the staff, the players and the chairman in a restaurant. It is as important as work on the pitch.
‘And then, when you must fight in a competition, there’s a willingness to help your team-mates more — and care more for the gaffer that pays the bill!
‘When I pay, I pay good! Good restaurant, good food, good wine.
‘This was a very good day to stay all together and laugh and share a different atmosphere.’