Andy Carroll will only become a ‘great asset’ for West Ham if he keeps himself fit, says Slaven Bilic

Keep it up: Hammers boss calls on striker to maintain his fitness levels
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Andy Sims3 January 2016

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has warned Andy Carroll to keep himself in shape.

Striker Carroll has scored two goals in two games, including the crucial second in Saturday's 2-0 win over Liverpool, since returning from his latest injury absence.

The 26-year-old has been dogged by fitness problems since moving to Upton Park in 2013, while questions have been raised in the past about his lifestyle and how he looks after himself away from football.

But Bilic now finally has his key forward fit and firing - and wants him to stay that way.

"Now he looks fit to me," said the Croatian boss.

"Basically we are talking a lot about him; 'Andy this, Andy that, Andy for England', but now he is fit and it is all about him now.

"Is he going to look after himself, work hard, train, rest, to maintain his fitness, or to even make it better? And then, and only then, he will become a great asset for us.

"It is up to him. But I expect him to stick to what he was like recently. He would be very, very stupid to do otherwise."

Michail Antonio nodded West Ham in front after 10 minutes, and Carroll killed off his former club when he thumped home a header from Mark Noble's cross 10 minutes after half-time.

West Ham vs Liverpool - player ratings

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"That's two back-to-back wins which is fantastic and two goals for me, which is obviously even better for me personally," the big frontman told West Ham TV.

"It's nice that the manager was pleased with my performance. I put a shift in and so did all the lads and he's just delighted with the three points, as is everyone.

"I got another 90 minutes under my belt and it's much better than training. You can only get match fitness through games and I'm feeling good."

Liverpool hit the crossbar through Emre Can and Lucas had a late header cleared off the line by Noble, but they were otherwise poor and deservedly left empty-handed.

"We deserved to lose," admitted boss Jurgen Klopp.

"We always had the ball, we could have made many more chances but we didn't. We have to again accept that we didn't play like we should."

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