ANDY CARROLL says being able to use his on-pitch “experience” in the boardroom was why he invested in Dagenham and Redbridge.
He has also credited his time with West Ham for making him want to join the non-league Essex club.
Thousands of fans will have had to double take when they saw the former Liverpool and West Ham striker was announced by the National League South side on Sunday.
The Daggers, who currently play in the sixth tier, sent social media into meltdown after being taken over by a Qatari-led investment group.
Carroll has also invested in the club. Now, he’s explained just why he was so keen to be a part of the unique takeover.
He told the Daggers social media channel: “What inspired me to be a part owner of the club was the first conversation with Lee [Bradbury] the manager.
“He said they’ve got a magic team behind the scenes. The ‘all-star team’, that’s what he said.”
Carroll continued: “I step off the pitch and go into the boardroom, I can give my experience of what I’ve lived and what is expected of a great club.”
The 36-year-old also jokingly admitted his kids thought he was signing for Chelsea.
Carroll left French fourth-tier club Bordeaux at the end of last month after signing for them last summer before coming to Essex.
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The Gateshead-born striker has previously played for English clubs Newcastle, Liverpool, West Ham, Reading, West Brom and Preston, spending 16 seasons in the Premier League in total.
But it was his time in east London, he says, that helped persuade him to join the Daggers.
He said: “I know the passion that the people have around here for football.
“The size of Dagenham, with 220,000 people around here, to have a team like this and to support a big club like this in the smaller leagues, it’s massive.
“I was fortunate to have seven years at West Ham, so I know the people and I know how much it means to them.
“To be part of this club now I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be here.”
