3 Andy Carroll

This interview appears in the current edition of Sport magazine. Download the free iPad app from the Apple Newsstand, and follow on Twitter @sportmaguk.

Andy Carroll’s first goal of the season pulled West Ham level in their 3-1 win over Swansea two weeks ago. The celebration, though, was the real story, as Carroll sprinted to the West Ham bench and launched into a group hug with whoever he could get his hands on.

After injury had ruled him out of the opening 10 games of the season, there was a relief to the embrace that served to highlight the togetherness that has propelled the Londoners to fourth in the table.

“It was also a way of saying thank you,” Carroll explains when we speak ahead of West Ham’s testing Christmas run of games. “The medical staff and that have been right behind me, the manager’s been right behind me and just everyone at the club has been great. Even when I’ve been injured, they’ve been helping me. It was just a thank you to everyone who helped me get back in shape. I was dedicating the goal to them.”

“It’s taken a lot of hard work to get back on the pitch,” Carroll continues when we ask him about the injuries that have seen him sidelined once again this season.

“I’ve been strengthening my whole body, so hopefully that will stop any recurrence. I spoke to the manager a lot when I was out injured, and he said it’s just a case of carrying on the way I’ve been working. He was getting reports at the end of every week about how I was doing and where I was at in my recovery, and then he’d chip in with what he wanted me to focus on. He’s obviously happy with how everything was going. And, now that I’m back, I’ve got to continue working hard to keep my fitness up.”

Team player Carroll’s return to the team has coincided with three wins and just one loss in six games. His two goals against Swansea turned the game on its head. And, while his side were doing pretty well in his absence, you can’t help but feel that Carroll is a key figure to this West Ham team’s fortunes. The Match Of The Day team even recently took the time to focus on how Sam Allardyce has set his side up to suit Carroll’s style, but the man himself is quick to play down his own significance.

“Everyone is part of the team and we all play to the same sort of style,” Carroll points out. “The nine goals before the Swansea game were scored by nine different players, so anyone who has been in the side has been scoring. I’m aware that we have other strikers who can do the same jobs as me. When I was injured, Carlton Cole, Enner Valencia and and Diafra Sakho were all up there doing a job. Everyone’s equally as important.”

Whether that’s true or not, Carroll’s style suits West Ham’s often direct, aerial approach. The Hammers put in 36 crosses against Swansea alone. “Yeah, you get a bit of stick for putting the ball in the air and heading it,” Carroll laughs. “But it’s just another weapon, you know? Obviously we can pass it and open teams up, because we have been doing that this season. But we have a lot of players who are good in the air as well, so we’re going to use that.

“Teddy Sheringham has come in [as attacking coach] and he has us working on our movement around the box. That’s clearly had an impact on our runs to get on the end of crosses, and so on. He’s just sharpening everyone up. That’s just the way he used to play, being quick to react. That’s what we were doing, quick movement around the box and working on finishing. Obviously it’s got us moving a lot more and offering a lot more options, and it’s making a big difference.”

We suggest there is a very different atmosphere around Upton Park now, compared with last season’s relegation worries. “Yeah, obviously West Ham is a great place to be,” Carroll agrees. “The move to the Olympic Stadium is coming, we’re flying in the league, the manager is great.”

So, what does the rest of the season hold? Allardyce has insisted that a top-10 finish is still the target – for now – while Carroll has talked about challenging for the league title. He tells us, however, that targets have yet to be set. “We’re just concentrating on the next game,” Carroll explains, ticking off another classic from the Bumper Book Of Cliches.

“The games are going to come fast over Christmas, so we’ve got to concentrate on each one and keep our squad fit. We won’t get too carried away with the league; we’ve just got to continue playing the way we’re playing and stay focused on the next game. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

And the man himself? “I don’t feel completely 100 per cent yet. There’s still a lot of work to go to get there, but every 90 minutes I play gets me sharper. All strikers want to score goals, so when I scored the goals against Swansea, I just thought: ‘Yeah, this is it now. I’m back.’”

With the Christmas period imminent, the ghosts of injuries past have been laid to rest. For Carroll’s sake, let’s hope they stay there