Carroll going hammer and tongs to impress Pellegrini
ANDY CARROLL has his heart and head set on staying at West Ham.
The injury-jinxed striker needs his ankle, groin, hamstring and knee to show solidarity to allow him to win a new deal.
Carroll, 29, showed the depth at Manuel Pellegrini’s disposal as he came off the bench at half-time to help seal the club’s first hat-trick of three-goal wins since 1982.
And the big man, entering the final months of the contract he signed in 2013, wants to play a bigger part in the Chilean’s
East End revolution.
“My heart is here, my head is here,” said Carroll, married to TOWIE star Billi Mucklow. “It is easy for me because my family is from here.
“It has been hard to come back – I have been through a lot – but I’m enjoying it. I love everything about it. I just need to get myself fully fit.
“I played 45 minutes and that is a step towards it. I am not as sharp as I want to be but I don’t think that will take long.
“It is important to deserve another deal. It will be great if I can get it.”
Carroll has started only 59 league games for the Hammers and none since January 2. But after Palace took the lead through James McArthur, Carroll showed his value. Robert Snodgrass equalised and then
Carroll won the free-kick that led to Javier Hernandez’s strike. Felipe Anderson’s curler meant Jeffrey Schlupp’s header for Palace was in vain.
“The manager is very attacking and there are goals in the team,” said Carroll. “I feel like I don’t have to score to make an impact. Even if I don’t get on the scoresheet, I cause problems.”
Winning with stylish football has changed the atmosphere in the London Stadium. Carroll, who criticised fans last season, said: “The players have been talking about it – they were well and truly behind us today. We could hear it and it makes a difference to the lads.”
Frustrated Wilfried Zaha was cautioned for the second game in a row, and Palace have not won in the top flight without him since September 2016.
Former Hammer James Tomkins was booked after the match for arguing with the referee.
Skipper Luka Milivojevic said the lack of concentration and focus as Palace conceded three goals in 17 sloppy second-half minutes was “unacceptable”.
“It’s something we talked about and to pick up two yellow cards in the last minutes was something we didn’t have to do,” he said.
“We were chasing a result and maybe we lost a bit of control because we had to score.
“Football is a lot of up and down. When you win you are really excited but Tuesday and Saturday now we have lost and it’s disappointing because we know what we can do. We have to win the next game and change the mood.”
WEST HAM (4-4-2): Fabianski 6; Zabaleta 7, Balbuena 6, Diop 5, Masuaku 6; Snodgrass 7, Noble 6, Rice 6, Anderson 7 (Obiang 84); Perez 5 (Carroll 46, 7), Hernandez 7 (Diangana 74, 5). Booked: Diop. Goals: Snodgrass 48, Hernandez 62, Anderson 65. NEXT UP: Fulham (a), Sat PL.
PALACE (4-4-2): Hennessey 5; Wan-Bissaka 5, Tomkins 6, Sakho 7, Van Aanholt 6 (Schlupp 55, 7); McArthur 6 (Ayew 66, 5), Milivojevic 6, Kouyate 5, Meyer 6 (Puncheon 64, 5); Townsend 6, Zaha 6. Booked: Tomkins, Zaha. Goals: McArthur 6, Schlupp 76. NEXT UP: Leicester (h), Sat PL.
Referee: A Taylor (Greater Manchester).