Koeman delighted with the change in Barkley
Everton manager Ronald Koeman has praised Ross Barkley after the young England star hit a red hot patch of form and confirmed that he is always speaking to Ross about what is needed.
The midfielder was subject to a barrage of criticism in the press, but Koeman feels that is now in the past and what the player is producing now shows that he can adapt his game.
“We speak a lot with Ross about what we need for the team from his qualities,” he said. “We know if you are a midfield player, you need to run, you need to work, you need to defend.
“But what we saw today is a midfielder who is always free, has good control of the ball, had a good shot in the first half, and had some good assists for scoring goals.
“We don’t need Ross to get the ball from a defender to turn and play a five-yard pass. We need him in the final third attacking. He’s changing in that regard and that’s what we need and what we like.
“We needed that support for Romelu Lukaku from Ross, and from Kevin Mirallas and Ademola Lookman when he came on.”
“By changing the manager you get new ideas, different exercises in training,” he added. “You need time for that. You can’t change things in two weeks. Players need to understand and change.
“With younger players it’s sometimes easier as they are open in everything, but I’m happy with all the squad at the moment and we have good results.
“Most of the time, the team is fresh and playing with a lot of intensity and quality. That’s the best way to get the best results.
“We’re in a good way and we would like to keep the momentum going.”
Can Barkley push on and become a better player?
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