Andy Carroll said his two-goal show against West Bromwich Albion was the reward for West Ham United fans and players alike.
The centre forward was the hero as the Hammers roared back from a goal down to snatch a 2-1 victory with virtually the last kick of the game.
And Carroll said his ability to keep going for the whole 90 minutes, plus added time, on his first Premier League start since 24 November, was the result of putting in the hard yards at Rush Green.
“It was good. It was nice to get a start and get some goals and the three points,” the No9 told West Ham TV. “It was a fantastic night and I think the fans deserved it and the lads did too.
“It’s tough when you’re only training and not getting the match-time that you want. You’ve got to keep training and keep match-fit.
“It’s tough just training and coming on for ten or 15 minutes, it’s really tough, but you’ve got to keep working hard and doing the extras in training to keep yourself fit for nights like this when you’re called upon.”
It was a fantastic night and I think the fans deserved it and the lads did too
Andy Carroll
Carroll was also full of praise for his teammates, including Mark Noble, who came off the bench to produce a fine second-half performance, and Aaron Cresswell, whose left-wing cross provided the assist for his thumping headed equaliser.
“It’s massive to come from behind and win. We’ve got a great group of lads in the dressing room and they love coming in every day and enjoying it. That’s the group that we’ve got.
“The game changed after half-time. Nobes came on and he kept the ball for us and distributed it well. He had a good game.
“It was an all right ball in from Cress, but I made it look better! I told him just to put it in and I’d get it. He’s put a great ball in and I’ve managed to get above the defender and any touch on it and would go in the back of the net. It was a great ball.”
The Hammers will enjoy a recovery session at Rush Green on Wednesday before resting up ahead of Thursday night’s trip to Wembley Stadium to face Tottenham Hotspur.
A second victory in the space of 48 hours will see West Ham rise to eleventh in the table, and Carroll says a similarly hard-working display at the Home of Football can turn that hope into reality.
“We’ve been working hard. It’s been tough for the lads who’ve been playing every game, but we just dug in.
“We went 1-0 down and it was difficult to take off the deflection, so we knew we had to come out in the second half and prove to ourselves that we were better than that. We grinded and got the ball in the box and had a couple of chances and thankfully we took them.
“All the lads want to go into the game against Spurs on the back of a win. We’ve got a bit of recovery time now. The games come thick and fast so we’ll recover and go again.”