Sam Allardyce: 'Andy Carroll close to his best again'

West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has said that striker Andy Carroll is very close to being back to his best, with the frontman bagging a brace in the Hammers' 3-1 win over Swansea City.

The East Londoners took all three points from their clash with Garry Monk's men at Upton Park, with goals from Carroll and Diafra Sakho cancelling out an opener from Wilfried Bony.

"Andy is very close to his best again now. When he's scored two, you have to say that. His movement and the quality of our balls into the box is very apparent," said Allardyce, according to The Mirror.

"Because of the quality of our ball in the final third, and the quality of our players with the technical heading ability, that's good enough to score goals.

"It's got lost in the game somewhat today. People don't talk about how good the technical ability you need is to meet a ball in the air at the right time and to guide it into the right place."

The win now sees West Ham sitting in third position in the Premier League table.