The West Ham United manager has endured a tumultuous campaign this season.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic wrote his regular column for the club’s official website, and strongly refuted suggestions that Andy Carroll’s unprofessional attitude has been the root cause of his injury problems throughout his career, highlighting the striker’s importance to his team.
The 28-year-old’s campaign has once again been blighted by injury, and he has made just 18 Premier League appearances all season for West Ham.
He still has two years remaining on his current deal with the Hammers, so Bilic will have a big decision to make this summer, regarding whether or not he keeps hold of the towering hitman.
Many fans and pundits have called for the Croatian to get rid of Carroll during the off-season, with the former Newcastle United and Liverpool man’s professionalism being called into question.
Bilic fiercely denied those claims, however, when writing his regular column for WHUFC.com:
West Ham’s Andy Carroll
“I know that Andy is not injured because he is not professional. That script is not the case. I know that Andy is very settled down, very up for training and looking after his body and it looked, at one stage of the season, that he would be OK and all that. It’s not coincidence that during that period we won six out of nine, then suddenly we are without him.”
Next up for Bilic and co is a huge clash with bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium on Friday night, and West Ham’s chances of victory will be massively boosted if they have Carroll fit and available for selection again.
He makes such a difference to the manner in which the East London outfit play. He offers them a far more potent threat in attacking areas, especially from set-pieces, and he provides an outlet for his defence when they are under the cosh.
If Bilic is to keep hold of Carroll this summer, he and his medical team must find a way of keeping him fit for at least 30 games during the course of a season. And maybe then he will showcase his true ability.
West Ham’s Andy Carroll
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