The England striker left St James' Park for Anfield for £35million on transfer deadline day during the January transfer window. The Magpies could come up against their former striker on Sunday when Alan Pardew's side travel to Merseyside. Nolan believes Newcastle are better off without Carroll, who is battling to shake off a knee injury to face his old club on Sunday, as the funds from his sale will allow the club to strengthen the squad in the summer. "It was best for the club," Nolan said on Carroll's departure on January. "It's worked out for us better that Andy's gone although we'd love to have him still here. "If he was, we'd probably have a few more points on the board and would be able to build a team around him which was going to be great. "But £35m? Come on. It's an astronomical sum. The club would have taken £10m last season and £4m when we were relegated. "It shows what he's done in a short space of time and how big he was for us. "But now he's got a new chapter in his life and we've got a lot of money to spend. If we can get four or five players in for that, it works the best way you can possibly think of. "We're in such a fantastic position at this moment so let's just see what happens." Newcastle were tipped to struggle without their star striker, but Nolan believes they have shown they can cope without the England international. "Everyone's seen we're not just a one man band," added Nolan. "We've got a core of a team that has played the majority of the season "Although we've had a few hitches and glitches, we've done really well."
