West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce feels Andy Carroll is being targeted by opposition defences for special treatment.

The £35million striker, currently on loan from Liverpool, again failed to find the back of the net as the Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke at Upton Park.

"He is going to attract attention by the fact he is very good at his hold-up play and [because of] his heading ability, and people are going to need to pay particular attention to him," he said.

"He is going to attract one or two defenders around him and that will create spaces elsewhere.

"Andy is not to be frustrated by the fact that he is not scoring at the moment and in fact today he didn't get much of a chance to score.

"But I think sooner or later, if we keep concentrating on him making runs into the box and the service we give, he will eventually score."