Gareth Barry

Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has revealed that he is helping Ross Barkley to remain positive even during a challenging season.

The England youngster is widely regarded as a great talent, but manager Ronald Koeman recently criticised the player by saying that he should offer more in order to be in the team on a regular basis. There is a danger of Barkley heading down the same road as a Jack Rodwell.

Despite possessing immense talent, Rodwell has slowly slipped away from the top levels of the game. There is a danger of history repeating withBarkley, but Barry says that he is careful enough to avoid such an occurrence.

Barkley was not included in the England squad for the World Cup 2018 qualifying games against Malta, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Interim manager Gareth Southgate and former boss Sam Allardyce have both not taken a look atBarkley. The 22-year-old came to prominence during the regime of Roberto Martinez, and Barry says that he was the focal point of the team back then.

An England international himself, Barry says that it is important thatBarkley stays with confidence even after the recent setbacks. The midfielder has called 2 goals in 11 league appearances this season while only one assist to his name has been credited.

"He obviously has had it really good for two years since Roberto Martinez came here and saw him as the focal point of his team.But being left out of the England squad and dropped at Everton for the first time, that's the time you need to have a little word with him to keep him going.When things are going well it's easy to keep going, so Ross needed a few words from a few of the experienced players to keep his head up at a time like this," said Barry.