Ayew hails 'top striker' Carroll

West Ham United winger Andre Ayew is delighted to be playing alongside England striker Andy Carroll.

The duo seems to be finding their feet after spending the early part of the season on the sidelines, each scoring in their 4-1 triumph over Swansea City last weekend.

The goal was Ayew's first for the club, one less than Carroll's league tally in six games this season.

“To be honest, Andy is a top striker,” Ayew told his club's official website.

“He’s been here at the club for a while and the guys know how to use him and play with him.

"For me, it’s new and I’m learning, but it’s great because his quality is there and he helps the whole squad.

"Hopefully, he can continue playing the way he is playing and scoring the goals he is scoring."

Following a poor start to the season, West Ham are in a dire need of points to have any chance of finishing among the top seven as they did last season.

It is for this reason that maximum points in each of the last three league matches have massively boosted their hopes.

“Our recent wins have brought a lot of confidence," Ayew added.

"We beat Burnley and Hull in a difficult way, then we beat Swansea by putting the ball on the ground, playing football and scoring four goals.

"We proved that we can play with different styles and win in different ways.

“We are growing as a team and growing in confidence and we can win more games. Right now the confidence is high and hopefully it will stay high.”

Ayew joined West Ham on a three-year deal from Swansea in August, having hit 12 goals in 34 league outings for the latter last season.