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Andy Carroll has been serving that well-known East end delicacy, humble pie and mash, to his most strident critics.

And as his West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan invited the “keyboard warriors” who wrote off Carroll to eat their words, the Hammers dared to dream of landing their first major trophy in 35 years.

Nolan had the best view in the house for Carroll’s latest floor show in the 1-0 win against Bristol City in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday as he created Diafra Sakho’s late winner at Ashton Gate.

During a wretched year of patchy form and fleeting fitness, striker Carroll endured a nightmare spell of 322 days without a goal between April 2013 and March 2014.

And he missed the first three months of this season after suffering ankle ligament damage on the Hammers’ pre-season trip to New Zealand.

But five goals in 14 appearances since his return in November have maintained the East Enders’ unlikely push for European football and sent them into the last 16 in the Cup, where they will visit West Brom.

(Image: Rex)

Carroll’s prowess in the air came to the fore with a timely goal-line clearance from under his own bar against City before his less-heralded right foot set up Sakho’s headed winner with a perfect cross.

Nolan said: “People only see Andy for his aerial ability all the time, but he has got a lot of ability on the floor as well – we saw that recently against Leicester and at Swansea.

“But I think now he is getting up to full fitness, everything is coming together for him and I’m delighted because he’s had such a tough time with a lot of injuries.

“He never lost his hunger and desire. A lot of people looked in from the outside and started to give him a lot of stick, but I hope they are starting to eat their words now because he is beginning to show everyone what he is all about.

“He’s always had it, but everyone seemed to forget it because he wasn’t there, doing it on the pitch, and now he is proving them all wrong.

“You get the keyboard warriors having a pop at him and it all escalated from there, but they don’t know the first thing about him.

“But now everyone is talking about him for the right reasons – he has had a torrid couple of years, but he has put it all behind him and it’s fantastic to see.”

(Image: Action Images)

Nolan admitted the prospect of West Ham at Wembley was beginning to appear on the horizon, adding: “The fans can go home and dream about it, and on our day we can beat anyone.

“A lot of big teams have gone out, so now it’s down to us to prove we can be successful in this competition.

“The romance has been rekindled, everyone is in love with the FA Cup again and there are no easy routes to Wembley. We can only take small steps at a time, but give it a few more weeks and we might be fulfilling our dreams.”