Carroll's Hammers Home

ROY Carroll has returned to fitness at just the right time and is in contention to start against his old club Manchester United on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Northern Ireland international is back in training after a knee injury, but with Shaka Hislop proving an able deputy over the last five games Carroll faces a fight to reclaim his Number One shirt.

"Obviously at the start of the season this game against my old club was one that I looked for," he said. "I enjoyed my time with Manchester United, but that's in the past now and my aim is to concentrate on doing well for West Ham United.

"I'm delighted to be part of the Club and the progress that we have made this season.

"It's been a strong start to the season, and obviously I've been disappointed to miss out through injury over the last few games. Shaka has done really well, he's a top-class goalkeeper and we'll just have to see what happens.

"I'd like to play in this game, but I just want to work hard to get back in the side. Things were going well before I got injured and I just want to focus on getting back into the team and doing well.

"Manchester United are a great side and obviously it's going to be very tough for us on Sunday. But we'll play our own way, we'll be positive going into the game and it should be a great game for the fans.

"The atmosphere in the ground will be fantastic and that will give us a huge boost. We've shown already this season that we have the ability in the team to compete at this level and hopefully we can do it again on Sunday."