‘King of assists’ will help Carroll

Steve McManaman thinks Steven Gerrard’s return will help Andy Carroll.

Liverpool cult hero Steve McManaman says Andy Carroll’s goal drought will end when ‘the King of assists’ Steven Gerrard returns.

The former England winger was confident Gerrard’s return from injury would help the £35million signing improve his scoring record at Anfield.

Gerrard has gradually returned to action following an ankle infection and McManaman believes this will cause a turnaround in the club’s scoring fortunes.

“If Carroll and Gerrard both play against Oldham, as I would hope, I think Andy will do well, because Stevie is the king of assists," he said.

“Liverpool have missed his passes, which unlock tight games. They have missed his set-piece delivery... and nobody has missed him more than Carroll.

“Gerrard will help him a lot. In the same way that he helped Fernando Torres a lot.

“His ability to deliver telling passes and crosses at the feet of Liverpool's strikers has been arguably their greatest strength for a decade now.

Many feel that Kenny Dalglish’s side were dealt a telling blow with the recent eight-game suspension of Luis Suarez.

McManaman believes that Carroll should get a run in the side with the Uruguayan’s absence and that the former Newcastle United man just needs a bit of luck to go on a scoring run.

“With Suarez out of the picture for a month, hopefully Carroll will get a run of games in the side to find that consistency," he added.

“Carroll only needs one to go in off his backside, or a hat-trick against lower-division opposition in the Cup, and he could be flying.”

The former Real Madrid man was speaking ahead of the Merseysiders FA Cup third round tie with League One side Oldham.