West Ham 2 Wigan Athletic 0 match report: Ton-up Kevin Nolan sings Andy Carroll's praises after Upton Park victory

West Ham's Matt Jarvis pokes his side's opener home (Getty Images)

West Ham captain Kevin Nolan was delighted with his team-mate Andy Carroll's contribution after the pair linked up in Saturday's 2-0 win over Wigan as Nolan scored his 100th league goal.

"We have combined for quite a few goals – he keeps reminding me and saying that it's never the other way around. The big man's been fantastic since he's come back into the team," Nolan said. "He's looking really sharp. We seem to get on really well on and off the pitch, we just click and that's helped us with our games.

"I'm hoping he will be for as long as I'm here. You only have to look at how many games we've played and how many goals we've scored to see that. We feel we can score against anyone and cause anyone problems."

Manager Sam Allardyce was also complimentary of the striker, on loan from Liverpool.

"If we haven't got Andy Carroll next year, we have to produce a big, big money signing to get someone of his quality." Allardyce said.

Now the club has passed the 40-point mark in the division and secured their place in the top-flight for next season, Nolan said that they won't take their foot of the gas just yet. "We can enjoy it [the rest of the season] but you have to remember we still have games in the Premier League to play. We're five unbeaten and we want to carry that on until the end of the season."

The rest of the season is not something Wigan manager Roberto Martinez will enjoy. The Spaniard believes the Latics' game in hand will be vital to his club's safety. The FA Cup finalists have currently played 33 league matches this season, one fewer than the teams surrounding them.

"There is no margin for error. We still have a game in hand, we have five games left," the manager said. Wigan are on 31 points, three points from safety. "We probably need three wins. It's something we can achieve."