Manchester United legend Andy Cole says Liverpool striker Andy Carroll needs to start taking his career seriously.
Cole says Carroll's talent is not in doubt, but he has developed an uncanny ability to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons since breaking into the first team at Newcastle United as a teenager.
"I had to learn from my mistakes like all young men and so does he," former Newcastle hitman Cole told the Daily Express.
"Liverpool paid £35 million for Andy Carroll and they would not have done that if they were not convinced about his talent.
"I'm in no doubt he has it in him to be a great striker for many years to come, but he has to listen to good advice and discard bad advice, just as I had to do when I went from Newcastle to Manchester United.
"Carroll has Ian Rush coaching him and Kenny Dalglish as his manager and what they don't know about the game is not worth knowing.
"My advice to Andy would be to listen to the likes of Rushy and Kenny and to take it on board.
"Both were fantastic strikers in their day and both know what it takes to get to the top and stay there.
"Like everyone, I read stories about Carroll in pubs and nightclubs. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you do it at the right time and place.
"He has to learn that lesson. It is a hard lesson to learn, but Kenny and Rushy went through it, I went through it, and Andy has to go through it."