West Ham United skipper Kevin Nolan has revealed the influence he's had on Andy Carroll's career.

The big striker courted trouble and two years ago was ordered to stay with Nolan - then Newcastle United captain - while he was on bail for assault charges.

Charges were later dropped and Nolan described how he and the Newcastle backroom staff helped Carroll turn his life around.

He said: "Did I help to save his career? You can write that. When something happens in Newcastle, it gets exploded 10 times. With Andy it is blown up even more.

"He needed somewhere to stay. He was in a hotel so I cleared it with the missus and it was OK. He was a good fella and not a bad cook... pasta and things like that. Why me? Because I was captain at the time and probably the only one stupid enough to let him stay. I spoke to him and so did ­manager Chris Hughton and the assistant Colin Calderwood.

"But he was in trouble really because it was him. He is 6ft 5in tall with long hair and he stands out in a crowd.

"He was brilliant for Newcastle and everything he did was magnified 1,000 times. He knew he had to stay out of situations and he went to Liverpool to stay with his girlfriend."