Everton manager Ronald Koeman was quick to praise midfielder Ross Barkley following his performance during Saturday’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough.

The Dutchman had criticised Barkley after Monday’s victory over Sunderland, claiming he gave possession away on too many occasions.

He decided to substitute the England international at half-time against the Black Cats but Barkley was given the nod at Goodison Park against Boro.

The midfielder responded with a strong display and Koeman was impressed with his attitude.

He told reporters: “I try to be honest about players. You can’t always say what you think about players because you need to keep it inside but he played how I like to see Ross: offensively strong and defensively he worked very hard.

“Maybe in 90 minutes he lost less balls than in the first 10 minutes against Sunderland.

We had some days after Monday. First of all you have to speak to the player and you need to support him and you expect a reaction.

“Players are not so stupid, they know when they play well and when they don’t.

He watched all the clips and we had a good talk and finally it is up to the player.”

The Toffees, 6.00 to finish in the top four, are now up to second in the Premier League table and Koeman was also pleased with his team’s response after going one-nil down.

“I think Middlesbrough started better but there was great character of the team being 1-0 down at home and it was 3-1 by half-time. It was really enjoyable how we played,” he added.