Tuesday 2 April 2013 12:43, UK
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce hailed striker Andy Carroll's "world class" contribution to Saturday's 3-1 win over West Brom.
Allardyce had talked before the match of a need for five points from the remaining nine games to secure a place in the Premier League, a matter that is of even more importance with a move to the Olympic Stadium pencilled in for 2016. "With Wigan winning and closing the gap it was a very important win for us today, it puts us back in 11th spot so we're moving back up the table. We've been hovering around there all season, so it shows the consistency," he added. "There's a new future ahead for West Ham, and it's a focus to build for that future. I only focus on the next game, get the club in a position to re-plan and organise for next season. We're not quite there yet, but we're looking very comfortable." Allardyce also confirmed that substitute George McCartney had hobbled off late on with a recurrence of a knee injury that had kept him out of action for four months.
