Hammers boss Slaven Bilic is adamant that forward Andy Carroll’s return to the side will bring good things to the team, saying that the more time he plays the greater threat he will become.

The tall forward has struggled with injuries throughout his career, and recently returned to action with West Ham after a 5 month absense. Bilic recently praised the forward, saying that he will form a deadly partnership with striker Javier Hernandez up front.

Bilic says he believes the former England international will get better for the club over time, saying that it is very important that the forward gets more game time.

“Andy is always a threat and he was good in the air and also with stopping the balls and laying it off to the flanks,” said Bilic on West Ham’s official website (whufc.com).

“We put a lot of balls in where he couldn’t find a position to get a clean header, which is also down to West Brom, because they are known to defend well from those situations.”

“It is very important for him to get the games under his belt. He looks good now, touch wood. This was his second game and he looks fit and he looks competitive and the quality will come through the games. It’s a big boost for us and hopefully long may it continue.”

“He looked unhappy [to come off] but we have quality players on the bench and we changed the whole three up front because, as I said, we had Ayew, Arnautovic and Sakho, and I was very happy with the way they kept the shape, defended and pressed.”

“We wanted to score a goal, which is why we put three quality players up front.”