West Ham striker Andy Carroll is now hoping he can send Tottenham potty

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By his own admission, Premier League pitches have not seen enough of Andy Carroll over the past four seasons
He has started 73 League games since Liverpool bought him in Jan 2011
The 26-year-old is refreshed, grateful for boss Slaven Bilic's patience
After being out injured Carroll now takes a day out of training in the gym doing stability work and keeping up the work that has got him back fit

Published: 17:31 EST, 20 November 2015 | Updated: 20:58 EST, 20 November 2015

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Lying inside his house is a new, crisp Tottenham Hotspur kit. Andy Carroll sees the funny side but is not massively impressed.

Pristinely white, the kit is for Carroll's newborn son, Arlo, and a gift from the child's uncle. It takes the five-month-old's tally of strips to three amid a family wrestle for his eventual footballing affection.

There is his West Ham ensemble, the Spurs attire and — of course — the famous black and white stripes of Newcastle. It is a situation which, in a way, depicts the transposed world of Carroll, a Geordie lad whose thoughts are never far from home.

West Ham striker Andy Carroll is a Geordie lad whose thoughts are never far from home

Carroll has a growing fondness for the capital. His partner, TOWIE's Billi Mucklow, is a stable influence

Carroll has said of his eight-month injury: 'You don't see the end. That's what the killer is'

But Carroll has a growing fondness for the capital. His partner, The Only Way is Essex's Billi Mucklow, provides a stable influence and, after a series of luckless injuries, the striker is comfortable and back playing.

That means he is again incurring the inquisitions of Billi's family — all Hammers themselves.

'Even when I played at Newcastle my mam and dad didn't give me an easy time. These aren't going to give us an easy time either no matter what. I've had it all my life,' Carroll says.

'I get it off the whole family — even Billi's sister's fella Lewis, who is a Tottenham fan. He still quizzes us about West Ham. He wants to know everything.

'He bought Arlo a Tottenham kit. He thought it'd be funny for us to come home and it be sitting there. But that went straight to the back of the cupboard and hasn't been out since.'

Nobody will be delving into the cupboard to dust it off tomorrow when West Ham travel to White Hart Lane.

Carroll has started only 73 League games since Liverpool paid Newcastle £35million for him in January 2011

The former Newcastle United striker celebrates after grabbing the winner against Chelsea last month

'Arlo will be a Newcastle fan,' Carroll says defiantly. 'Obviously he's living down here but he will be a Newcastle fan. I think... I hope.

'He's got his West Ham kit and a Newcastle one too. All the family down here supporting West Ham he'll be pushed more that way — but I've got faith.'

Faith is what he needed a serious douse of during the latest of his crippling injuries, an eight-month ordeal which hit harder than the others.

On his goal against Chelsea he said: 'It was a great feeling, obviously even better because it was a winner'

Premier League pitches have not seen enough of Carroll over the last four seasons with his injury issues

'You don't see the end,' Carroll tells Sportsmail. 'That's what the killer is — you actually don't see the light at the end of the tunnel for a long time until you're back out on the pitch and scoring against Chelsea. It was a long time coming — a great feeling, obviously even better because it was a winner.'

He allows himself a grin but, by his own admission, Premier League pitches have not seen enough of Carroll over the last four seasons.

He has started only 73 League games since Liverpool paid Newcastle £35million for him in January 2011, already missing the equivalent of three whole campaigns through his career.

He has started only 73 League games since Liverpool paid Newcastle £35million for him in January 2011

Here though, leaning against a snooker table inside a Romford industrial estate, the 26-year-old looks refreshed, grateful for Slaven Bilic's patience, the sort of which not afforded by previous managers.

He also has Tottenham down as serious top-four contenders.

'The manager's words [in the summer] were 'we can't be having you 60 per cent, we need you 100 per cent — take your time'. Take as long as I need, and that's exactly what I've done,' Carroll adds.

'We're not going to force it.

Carroll is refreshed, grateful for Slaven Bilic's patience, the sort of which not afforded by previous managers

'The knee was supposed to be six months and ended up being eight... for me mentally, if someone is saying six and then it's eight — that's an extra two months and it hurts.

'I took that time, and maybe I should've done that in the past. I had to listen.

'I haven't been thrown back in as I have been in the past, training every day. Now I'm taking a day out of training in the gym doing stability work and keeping up the work that has got me back fit.'

Little Arlo will show off claret and blue tomorrow. Carroll's just glad he will be wearing any colours at all.

Little Arlo will show off claret and blue tomorrow. Carroll's just glad he will be wearing any colours at all

Andy Carroll was speaking at the launch of the Betway UK Snooker Championship. Betway, a leading online sports betting operator, offering more than 30,000 markets, available live and in-play across a huge range of sports, are also the official principal sponsor of West Ham United.