Hughton: It will sink in later for Carroll

Feb 20 2010 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

CHRIS Hughton does not expect Andy Carroll to fully appreciate the weight on his shoulders until later in his career.

Any youngster making his way at his local club faces a burden of expectation from fans wanting him to succeed. For him to be a striker at a club which deifies its greats only magnifies it.

As someone steeped in Newcastle United, Gateshead-born Carroll is conscious of the attention that comes with the job he hopes to make his own.

Hughton, though, thinks the naivety of youth is shielding him from the full realisation of the task in hand. “I think it’s only when you’ve been in the game a little bit longer than he has that the realisation of the pressure dawns,” said Hughton (pictured right).

“When you’re a young lad, you’re enthusiastic, you take everything in your stride. It’s as you get older and develop your game that the pressure grows. At this moment, I think he’s just enjoying being involved, playing and scoring.”

Whether you think Hughton or Carroll is correct, the latter insists his status as Newcastle’s next number nine in waiting has not altered his approach.

“In a way there is maybe a bit more pressure on me because I am a local lad but I just need to play my football as I would for any other team,” he said. “Even if I was down in London I’d play exactly the same and still try my hardest.”

Carroll is currently surviving Hughton’s tendency to tinker with his strike partnerships to be a regular on both the team-sheet and the scoresheet. “At the moment, he’s a lad in very good form,” his manager acknowledged.

“When you’re in a run like that, you want to be playing every minute of the game.

“As a striker, you go through good and bad periods and, at the moment, it’s a very good period for him.”