West Ham boss backs England striker to find his goalscoring touch soon

Sam Allardyce does not believe West Ham fans will start to lose faith in Andy Carroll if his goal drought continues.

The England international is on-loan at Upton Park from Liverpool and despite a promising start and continued decent displays the 23-year-old is yet to hit the back of the net.

But Upton Park boss Allardyce reckons the club's supporters have noticed the work ethic of the former Newcastle forward and believes that will give him more time to find his shooting boots.

He said: "The fans at West Ham love committed players and they love players who give their all and I think Andy wears his heart on his sleeve.

"I think a part of Andy's frustration has been the amount of times he seems to be fouled these days but doesn't seem to get the free-kicks against him that he deserves.

"He has to understand that's probably always going to be the case but for him it's not to get frustrated by that. It's about making runs in the right positions and just keep showing that commitment and eventually it will pay off for him and for us."

Former Blackburn manager Allardyce feels Carroll will be thinking about his lack of goals and admitted scoring early at a new club can prove vital for a striker.

He added: "I don't think it helps you. I think you like to come and start and get off the mark as quickly as you possibly can.

"What I do think is that he's not just a goalscorer. That's 90 per cent of his game. I think he's an all-round frontman in terms of his hold-up play and his movement as well as his ability to score goals."