Should West Ham go old school against Spurs with Carroll and Hernandez?

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Forget modern tactics, Slaven Bilic should consider the big man, little man approach for West Ham against Tottenham and beyond.

West Ham United’s Andy Carroll heads the ball during the English Premier League football match against Swansea City.

Andy Carroll is set to return for West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup tonight (October 25) after serving a one-match suspension, reports the BBC.

The Hammers will be looking to bounce back following their 3-0 home defeat to newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League in their last outing.

Their striker options were limited for that loss with Carroll suspended and Diafra Sakho injured and the latter has given manager Slaven Bilic cause for further headache with his latest comments about leaving the club.

Slaven Bilic speaks with Manuel Lanzini after he was substituted during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion.

“I still want to leave,” Sakho told French journalist Claude Atcheba after a deadline day move to Rennes fell through over the summer.

“I always say it. I don’t hide it. Fans happy or not, I want to change environment. I want to see something else in regard to everything that happened to me. I spent three wonderful years at West Ham.”

West Ham United striker Diafra Sakho (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the only goal of the English Premier League football match against Swansea City.

The fact Sakho is talking about the East London side in the past tense is not a good thing, but it almost makes Bilic’s decision for him in terms of how to field his attack going forwards.

The Croatian is not a tactically astute coach like Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino and should instead stick to simply playing his best players in their best positions and looking to ruffle a few feathers along the way.

It may not be the most classy approach, but in Carroll he has a physically imposing forward who is superb in the air and Hernandez is the prime example of a poacher who can thrive on flick-ons.

Surely it is time for Bilic to bring back the big man, little man? Starting against Spurs and then against a struggling Crystal Palace outfit at the weekend.