Sam Allardyce has revealed that he expected West Ham United to fail in their bid to bring Andy Carroll to Upton Park.
The England striker completed a loan move from Liverpool a day before the end of the transfer window despite Allardyce admitting that the 23-year-old was unsure about leaving Anfield.
Hammers manager Allardyce said: "Andy wasn't really keen to leave Liverpool, which you can understand, because he was a big transfer from Newcastle and wanted to show what he could do there. He wanted to show Brendan [Rodgers] what he could do."
The West Ham boss has also claimed that he was close to abandoning negotiations with Carroll before the deal was completed.
"I think in the end he saw he wasn't going to get those opportunities at Liverpool. First-team football was what he wanted and what we could offer him, and ahead of a lot of other Premier League clubs we were able to seal a deal thanks to the quick work of [co-chairman] David Sullivan," he added.
Carroll is believed to be closing in on a return to action following a hamstring injury.
Callum Mulvihill
