Everton's senior players have had to lift the spirits of Ross Barkley after his tough start to the 2016-17 season, Gareth Barry has revealed.
Barkley has lost his place in the England squad since being an unused part of the national team set-up at Euro 2016 and was also left on the bench for his club's draw with Manchester City earlier this month.
The 22-year-old has only scored once in eight Premier League games and has been warned over the level of his performances by new Everton boss Ronald Koeman on multiple occasions.
Barry feels Barkley has found the negative experience tough to deal with, having had a largely successful spell under former manager Roberto Martinez.
"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," Barry said to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday's home game against West Ham.
"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."
Koeman's forthright managerial style has impressed Barry, who feels players appreciate being told the truth, even if they may not be hearing positive words.
Barry added: "There are no hiding places. If you are not reaching the levels you will get found out. He's not messed about, he has told players how it is.
"If he is thinking something and players are not doing it he is letting them know. For me that's all a player wants, what a manager is thinking, nothing being hidden."
Everton have followed up a run of five consecutive wins by going the same amount of matches without a victory in all competitions.
"It's a huge game against West Ham in front of our own fans for the first time in a while - if we can get three points that's the sort of run we want to start again," said Barry.
