Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka fears Andy Carroll wonder goal may not be a fluke
Friday 20 January 2017 14:15, UK
Aitor Karanka has warned his Middlesbrough players not to dismiss Andy Carroll's wonder goal against Crystal Palace as a one-off.
The West Ham striker fired home an acrobatic volley to help his side secure a 3-0 win over their London rivals last weekend as the England international - renowned more for his ability in the air - showed a side of his game not usually associated with him.
Boro take on West Ham at the Riverside on Saturday and Karanka has been keen to stress Carroll is capable of repeating such feats.
"He's a player you always have to be careful of - but if we are just looking at him, [Michail] Antonio can score or [Sofiane] Feghouli can score or [Manuel] Lanzini can score... or anyone," he said.
"We have to think about ourselves, we have to try to play our style. We are playing at home, so we need to try to play our best and to try to stop him, to try to stop the balls to him.
"But behind him is Antonio, is Feghouli, are a lot of players, so it's not just him."
The Hammers have endured a topsy-turvy start to the campaign, having won four and lost three of their last seven games in all competitions.
"Predictable or unpredictable, they have 25 points - we are predictable and we have 20," he added.
