West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes that striker Andy Carroll gets extra attention from opposition defenders.

The England international has yet to score for the Hammers since joining them from Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in the summer.

"He is going to attract attention by the fact he is very good at his hold-up play and [because of] his heading ability, and people are going to need to pay particular attention to him," said Allardyce.

"He is going to attract one or two defenders around him and that will create space elsewhere. Andy is not to be frustrated by the fact that he is not scoring at the moment and in fact today he didn't get much of a chance to score.

"But I think sooner or later, if we keep concentrating on him making runs into the box and the service we give, he will eventually score."

West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City at home in the Premier League on Monday.