Bilic praises Carroll’s importance to West Ham
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has praised Andy Carroll’s contributions to the club, outside of goalscoring.
Carroll is yet to get off the mark this season for West Ham and is yet to hit double figures in a season for the club.
His best goalscoring season for West Ham was when he scored nine in the 2015-16 season.
The striker scored seven goals in 18 Premier League games last season, which is not a return to be sniffed at – considering his injury troubles.
Bilic has now come out to praise Carroll’s importance to the side, complimenting the way he holds the ball up and takes defenders out of the game to open up space for his teammates.
Speaking to Football London, Bilic said this:
There is always pressure on centre forwards.
They are not happy if they don’t score, as I said two years ago and last year, centre forwards who are basically, depending on their goals, to prove they are worth it for the team.
Andy is not like that, he opens spaces, he is sometimes tow or three around him that have to stop him which opens gaps and spaces.
His flicks or playoffs with his head too, are key.
For him to make an impact and to be very important, he doesn’t always have to score goals.
The English forward has scored 30 goals in 114 games for West Ham since joining the club from Liverpool – initially on a loan deal in 2012.