Source: Northern_Echo
Hughton left singing Carroll’s praises
CHRIS Hughton insists the best is yet to come from Andy Carroll after Newcastle's No 9 scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa in a thumping 6-0 win at St James Park yesterday.[LNB] The 21-year-old struck three times to inspire his side to their first points since returning to the Premier League, along with a stunning strike from Joey Barton and a brace from Captain Kevin Nolan.[LNB] The Magpies boss made the bold move of handing Carroll the legendary No 9 shirt at the start of the season and was delighted with the England Under-21 international's contribution against Villa.[LNB] I thought Andy's overall performance was superb and in line with how he's been.[LNB] He's had a good pre-season and I thought he was excellent at Old Trafford last Monday,'' said Hughton.[LNB] I think his work ethic for the team was excellent as well and he's a lad who is very confident now.[LNB] Carroll has been touted as possible England material since his fine form last season but Hughton claims his striker still has a lot of developing to do and will get better with age.[LNB] It's still too early to say he can play for England, he's still developing his game and there are areas he could still improve, Hughton said.[LNB] But he knows that and he's a young man that doesn't have much fear in his game and always wants to play. I think if you know there are areas to improve and you're prepared to do the hard work, you've got every chance, but he's certainly not done himself any harm.[LNB] Centre-forwards know it's about scoring goals and he was able to do that last season.[LNB] It was something we asked of him, to add goals to his game, and in the lesser division he was able to do that. Now the challenge is to do it in this division.[LNB] With Fabio Capello's assistant, Franco Baldini, watching from the stands yesterday, Carroll will have done his chances of an England call-up no harm and the Magpies boss claims the sky's the limit if the player can continue to improve.[LNB] He has developed his game and added goals but he can still improve. How far he can go will be up to the environment he is in,'' he insisted.[LNB] He can be prolific in the air and he's certainly a handful for defenders.[LNB] But many good goalscorers will tell you it's not only about the contribution to the team, but more about putting the ball in the back of the net, and ultimately he'll be judged on that.[LNB] The convincing victory extended Newcastle's unbeaten home record to 26 matches, with their last home defeat coming against Fulham in the relegation season, But Hughton insists everyone at the club must remain focused.[LNB] It is a wonderful achievement for us today but we're realistic, said Hughton.[LNB] We wont get too many days like this in this division.[LNB] Scoring six goals against the likes of Aston Villa's won't come around very often, so yes it's very much about getting our feet firmly back on the ground.[LNB] But I think you can't be in this division and get the scoreline we did without wanting to enjoy, and we'll certainly spend the rest of today enjoying this.[LNB] Hughton confirmed that the club had completed the signing of Ivory Coast international Cheik Tiote subject to a work permit being granted.[LNB] The 24-year-old international has passed a medical and is now awaiting a work permit.[LNB] Tiote was part of the FC Twente side that won the Eredivisie under Steve McClaren last season and played in all three of his country's games at the World Cup finals.[LNB] We're delighted we've got him, it will certainly give us some strength in the midfield area. We've got a lot of players who can play in there, but he's a particular type of player.[LNB] Alan Smith is the only defensive midfielder we've got and I think he's showed his value to us, but we felt we needed more options in there.[LNB] Despite allegations after the game that Joey Barton had celebrated with a Nazistyle salute, the midfielder insisted the gesture was merely about the moustache he had been growing until Newcastle's first win.[LNB] It was simply me saying the tache goes and waving to the fans, he insisted.[LNB] Newcastle goalkeeper Fraser Forster is poised to complete a loan switch to Celtic, subject to a medical today after watching the Parkhead club's 4-0 victory over St Mirren yesterday.[LNB] Celtic manager Neil Lennon sounded out his Norwich counterpart Paul Lambert, where Forster has previously been on loan, before deciding on a signing that will place pressure on current first choice Lukasz Zaluska.[LNB] Lennon said: He's a big boy, he's come highly recommended, I've watched him myself a couple of times.[LNB] His age, 22, is the only thing going against him because otherwise he's all the qualities you look for in a goalkeeper.[LNB] He's got a massive presence and he's come highly recommended from people in the game whose opinion I trust, so if the medical goes okay, we'll take him on board.[LNB]
