West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has said Andy Carroll is like Forrest Gump…you never know what you’re going to get with him!
The towering centre-forward was handed his first start of the season against Burnley on Wednesday night
SLAVEN BILIC reckons managing Andy Carroll is a bit like being Forrest Gump.
The West Ham manager gave Carroll his first start of the season at London Stadium after he injured his knee in pre-season.
Bilic admitted he was unsure how to use Carroll against Burnley in midweek as the former England striker had suffered a series of set backs during his rehab.
Bilic inteneded to give Carroll 30 minutes to gauge his recovery but instead left him on 83 minutes.
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He revealed: "First, I was thinking of half an hour because I was not sure about his recovery from injury.
"Then I thought about leaving him on the bench for later in the game but there comes a time when he I had to make a call. He'd looked good in training and so I decided to start with him.
"You could say it's a bit like Forrest Gump and the chocolate box scene - you never know what you are going to get until you open it.
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"Although in Andy's case, two things that you do know is his impact and determination.
"I had a judgement to make, maybe others would call it a risk. I was thinking not so much about Saturday's game against Hull but longer term as I don't want to lose him again."
As well as being boosted by the return of Carroll, Bilic was given a huge lift when youngster Reece Oxford agreed a new four and a half year deal worth £20,000 a week.
Bilic insisted he would never be able to afford a talent like Oxford in the current transfer market and was delighted Oxford decided to stay with the Hammers despite strong interest in the 18-year-old, from Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.
The Hammers boss added: "I don't know the market value of Reece but I do know that we wouldn't be able to afford him on the open market.
"We can't afford to pay that kind of money for a player who is for the future. Those kind of transfers are for the biggest clubs who can spend £20m on someone who will not be in the squad for a year or will give him on loan.
"West Ham can't do that. We can't buy someone of his quality, So the value...is it £15million or 30 or 45. Even 15 would be too much for us.
"I'm delighted he sees his future with us as I am sure he was tempted by other offers."