Carroll starred in West Ham’s win against Burnley.
Martin Keown has issued a warning to West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic over his overuse of Andy Carroll.
The striker made only his second Premier League start of the season as the Hammers narrowly overcame Burnley at the London Stadium on Wednesday.
Despite being unable to grab his second goal of the campaign, Carroll was one of West Ham’s stand-out performers on the night – prompting Bilic to describe him afterwards as a “miracle”.
“It’s no secret I’m a big fan of him,” the Croatian told the BBC. “I’m not a big fan because he’s a cousin or relative. It’s what I see on the training pitch. He is a miracle. What he gives to the team is massive.”
With relegation-threatened Hull City the next visitors to Stratford on Saturday, Carroll is expected to keep his place as his team try to extend their four-point lead on the bottom three.
However, given the 27-year-old’s questionable fitness record – only 99 appearances in four-and-a-half seasons with the Hammers – Keown has urged Bilic to proceed with caution.
“When he [Carroll] plays, they get points,” the former Arsenal defender wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“He played last night and they got three points. West Ham have got to keep him fit and use him in the right way.
“Last season they seemed to manage him well when he came back from injury. When they overused him, Carroll got injured again. They will be tempted to play him in every match but Slaven Bilic must be careful.
“He will want to play Carroll against Hull this weekend as it is vital they pick up points in these matches.”
Contrary to Keown’s claims, West Ham’s Premier League points-per-game ratio (1:1) has remained the same whether Carroll has played or not this season.
The Hammers can climb to 13th with a win against the Tigers.
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