Andy Carroll wants to stay at West Ham United and Manuel Pellegrini has told him to prove his worth.
But the charming Chilean looks to have pulled no punches when it comes to assessing Carroll since his return to the first team.
Carroll’s contract is up in the summer and he is desperate to earn a two-year extension option that is built into the deal (Sky Sports).
The big striker has missed much of the last two seasons at West Ham.
Indeed he has only played 136 times in nearly six years since signing for the Hammers.
Much of that is down to his attitude, application and lifestyle according to a host of his former managers and teammates.
Ex West Ham boss Sam Allardyce hit out at Carroll’s attitude in book claiming he does not love football.
‘Those stories are definite’
Even his successor in East London, Slaven Bilic, concurred: “I heard about before that sometimes he got injured because he was not totally dedicated to be a footballer (Daily Star).
“Those stories are definite, there is something behind them, they are true. It is very rare that people are making up stories. I heard about Andy Carroll because I’m a football fan. I did not have to become West Ham manager to know about Andy Carroll.”
Craig Bellamy was not so polite.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate last year, former Hammers striker Bellamy, who played with Carroll at Liverpool, was scathing in his assessment: “My conversations with Andy, and I do like him, but I don’t believe you work hard enough in the week to be the player you want to become. And I never seen an inch of that.
“Like with Jordan Henderson, he was going through a difficult period at that time as well but with Jordan you just seen him train, train, train, keep improving, keep improving, going to the gym, he worked and I remember saying to Jordan ‘You will be a top player, I know it just by your attitude and the ability you’ve got, it will turn’ – I never thought that was going to be the case with Andy.
‘He just doesn’t have the mentality or the drive to be a top player’
“If he went to the gym and he felt a little bit stiff then he felt ‘Well I don’t want to go to the gym anymore I don’t like the soreness’ and I just felt that pain barrier sometimes you need to go through as a player – and I’m not talking about injuries or anything like that – is some of his injuries part of where he doesn’t look after himself enough, I feel that’s always the case with Andy and I just felt with him he just doesn’t have the mentality or the drive to be a top player, to be your Chelsea levels, to be at a club like Liverpool for more than one season.”
Now Pellegrini himself has suggested Carroll is still not in the required physical condition to play despite being back in training and involved in matches for the last two months.
“I think if he recovers his shape and continues working every day of the week without any injuries there are not too many players with his quality,” Pellegrini told the club’s official website.
It is a damning indictment when the manager of a Premier League football club calls into question what kind of shape one of his top earners is in.
Indeed Pellegrini even made a point of stressing Carroll must work hard every day.
If the player has not woken up to that by now chances are he never will.
The true cost of Carroll
Carroll has cost West Ham in excess of £55 million all told since joining the club with a return of 34 goals.
In mitigation Carroll has also paved the way and assisted as many in that time.
And the goals he does score are often crucial.
How many times have West Ham fans heard how good a fully fit Carroll can be.
Hammers fans are not stupid. They know that more than anyone.
The trouble is he never is. And as he turned 30 last week, who knows if he ever will be.
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